Swine flu, commonly known as swine influenza, is caused by type A influenza virus. The main symptoms are large clusters of fever, cough, difficulty breathing, and runny nose. Swine flu is an acute, febrile, and highly contagious respiratory infectious disease. , usually breaks out among pigs, and can infect pigs of various breeds, genders, and ages. It is more common in late autumn, early spring, and winter when the temperature changes greatly.

The dangers of swine flu

Swine flu virus has a highly specific affinity for pig respiratory epithelial cells, which can cause damage to the pig respiratory epithelial wall and lead to the occurrence of swine flu. Pigs are extremely weak, which provides opportunities for other pathogenic microorganisms such as Actinobacter pleuropneumoniae and PRRS virus to invade the body. Therefore, the usual pattern of disease in pigs in autumn and winter is that swine influenza occurs first, followed by infectious pleuropneumonia. Or diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, leading to severe mixed infections and causing heavy losses to pig farms.

Clinical symptoms of swine flu

Typical swine flu is a fulminant mass disease, that is, when the temperature changes drastically Or when the pig herd suddenly cools down, almost 50% to 70% of the pigs will become sick, and it will quickly spread to the entire herd in 3 to 5 days. This is an important indication for the diagnosis of swine influenza. It can be considered that this symptom is the only clinical symptom of swine disease. Symptoms not found in all other diseases.

The incubation period of this disease is very short, and it breaks out after 12 to 48 hours of incubation, and most pigs in the herd show symptoms at the same time. In the early stages of the disease, the body temperature of sick pigs suddenly rises, which can be as high as 40 to 42.5 ℃. The sick pigs show symptoms such as flushing of skin all over the body, often lying on the ground, anorexia or loss of appetite, extreme weakness and even collapse and exhaustion. The sick pigs often lie crowded together, with abdominal pain. Curling up, if driven away, paroxysmal coughing will occur. The sound is like a barking dog, breathing is rapid, the mouth is open and abdominal breathing is performed, screaming is involved, and paroxysmal tremors occur throughout the body, which is extremely weak.

Epidemic characteristics of the three swine flu

Swine flu epidemics have obvious seasonal patterns, mostly occurring during sudden weather events. In late autumn, early spring and cold winter, it often becomes endemic or pandemic.

Sick pigs and virus-carrying pigs are the main source of infection of the disease. The respiratory tracts of sick pigs contain a large amount of viruses. The viruses will be excreted with respiratory secretions or through coughing, sneezing, etc. The virus enters the environment, causing the environment in which pigs live to be contaminated by influenza viruses, causing widespread disease among pigs.

Four swine flu prevention and control plans

1. Do a good job in temperature management of the pig house and pay attention to keeping out the cold in the morning and evening.

2. Do a good job in ventilation management of the pig house and keep the pig house dry.

3. Clean frequently and keep the environment of the pig house hygienic.

4. Disinfect regularly to reduce the chance of virus invasion.

5. In extreme weather, add nutritional packages to feed or drinking water to reduce the stress response of pigs.

6. Regularly use traditional Chinese medicine preparations to improve the resistance of pigs.

7. Once the disease occurs, respond quickly. The whole group should drink water, mix ingredients and add medicine for treatment. Pigs with severe disease should be treated with intramuscular antibiotics as soon as possible.

(Data source: Huayu Biology)