For years, the swine industry has talked at length about multiple pathogens and multiple infectious agents. JD Fiechtner, senior key account veterinarian for Boehringer Ingelheim, says only recently has the industry begun to fully realize the impacts of two infections affecting the pig at the same time.
“For a long time, we thought of them separately, as just a one plus one – an additive component,” Fiechtner explains. “What the industry is realizing now is that we are seeing worse outcomes from these infections when they’re together than when we just considered them independent of each other.”
Two recent studies back up the compounding impact pigs face when hit with more than one pathogen at a time. Scientists looked at the impact of co-infections of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) plus Lawsonia intracellularis and PRRS plus porcine circovirus type 2d (PCV2d).
“Most everybody is dealing with PRRS infections, and there is not any one answer to manage that disease,” Fiechtner says. “It’s very common, and it’s very common to be frustrated with it.”