The biggest waste for pig farmers: giving pigs injections indiscriminately whenever they breathe heavily!

 

At many pig farms, whenever a pig breathes heavily, they immediately give it cephalosporins or florfenicol. A lot is spent on medication, yet the pigs get worse with treatment, suffer recurring coughing and breathing difficulties, and continue to die.

 

The core reason is simple: the pigs may all be breathing heavily, but the diseases, breathing patterns, and medications required are completely different.

 

Today, we’ve put together the 9 most practical and distinctive pig diseases that cause breathing difficulties. Quickly identify the condition by the pig’s walking posture, breathing pattern, and physical signs—even beginners can learn at a glance.

 

 

I. Swine edema disease

 

Characteristic: Some affected pigs walk backward.

 

It commonly affects well-conditioned piglets around weaning. They develop eyelid edema, unsteady gait, and ataxia, and the disease has a very rapid onset.

 

Emergency treatment plan: sulfadiazine sodium + furosemide

 

This plan provides only symptomatic emergency treatment, and the mortality rate is relatively high. Edema disease is caused by Escherichia coli toxins; antibiotics cannot neutralize toxins that have already been produced. At weaning, feed restriction and stress reduction are key.

 

Two. Toxoplasma

 

Characteristics: Some sick pigs have stiff hind legs and walk without bending them.

 

Zoonotic protozoal disease, with a high incidence in summer and autumn. Affected pigs develop a fever, stiff, straight hind legs, abdominal breathing, and petechiae on the skin.

 

Treatment: sulfamonomethoxine sodium

 

Note: Ordinary respiratory medicines are ineffective. Sulfonamides must be given for a full course of at least 5 days, together with baking soda to protect the kidneys. Do not stop treatment as soon as the condition improves. Toxoplasma can infect humans; use personal protective equipment when handling sick pigs.

 

Three. Pseudorabies in pigs

 

Symptoms: lying on its side; after being turned over by a person, it automatically rolls back onto the same side as before, accompanied by empty chewing, drooling, and neurological convulsions

 

Key point: Suckling piglets that have already developed obvious neurological symptoms have an extremely low cure rate. Urgently vaccinate asymptomatic pigs in the same group. Provide primarily symptomatic care for sick pigs; do not force injections as treatment.

 

Note: There is no specific treatment; the core approach relies on regular vaccination of sows and piglets.

 

IV. Paratyphoid (Salmonella)

 

Characteristics: chronic dark green, foul-smelling, watery feces; the acute septicemic form first causes fever and purplish skin

 

Common in nursery piglets; cold, damp pens make outbreaks more likely. Coughing and labored breathing are accompanied by diarrhea.

 

Treatment: Florfenicol is the first choice and can be combined with sulfonamides.

 

Note: The treatment course must be completed, and housing hygiene should be improved; otherwise, the condition may recur easily.

 

 

V. Streptococcal encephalitis

 

Characteristic: continuous paddling movements of all four limbs

 

Suddenly collapses, paddles its limbs continuously as if swimming, and screams, with rapid breathing. It can occur at any age and at any time, and is the most common cause of swimming-like movements in pigs on farms.

 

Treatment: Sodium sulfadiazine

 

Reminder: The window for effective treatment is very short; if treatment is delayed, recovery is generally not possible. After symptoms disappear, it is recommended to continue medication for 2 days to prevent recurrence.

 

Six. Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS)

 

Feature: inguinal wheezing

 

Highly distinctive abdominal breathing: the flanks around both sides of the pig’s groin draw inward on inhalation and bulge outward on exhalation, moving in and out with each breath. Often accompanied by clusters of fever cases and purple ears, it is very likely to be followed by other respiratory diseases.

 

Note: Abdominal breathing is not unique to PRRS; the overall condition of the pig herd must be considered when making an assessment.

 

Plan: Suppress the virus and use medication to prevent secondary infections, most commonly tilmicosin and tylvalosin.

 

Note: Don’t just suppress the cough; focus on controlling secondary complications.

 

Seven, porcine circovirus

 

Feature: congenital tremor, commonly known as “shaky disease”; circovirus is only one of the triggers, and molds and other pathogens can also trigger it.

 

Newborn piglets tremble all over, have difficulty standing, and struggle to suckle. After infection, weaned pigs become thin, develop bristly hair, cough and wheeze, and have pale skin.

 

Plan: Focus on keeping piglets warm and providing supplemental nursing care; vaccinate sows regularly against circovirus to reduce the risk of vertical transmission.

 

Eight. Haemophilus parasuis

 

Feature: positive wave-shaped breathing

 

The breathing wave travels from the front of the chest toward the abdominal cavity: first the chest rises and falls, then the movement reaches the belly, wave by wave from front to back.

 

Treatment: cephalosporin + enrofloxacin

 

Tip: For most group treatments, treat the affected animals individually while mixing the preventive treatment into the feed for the entire group.

 

Nine, contagious pleuropneumonia

 

Feature: reverse-wave breathing

 

Exactly the opposite of Glässer’s disease! The breathing movement starts in the abdomen and moves toward the chest, arching from back to front. The disease has a sudden onset; affected animals breathe with their mouths open in a dog-sitting posture. In severe cases, bloody froth flows from the nose and mouth, and sudden acute death may occur.

 

Treatment:

 

Option one: on one side, silver-yellow + cephalosporin + dexamethasone; on the other side, florfenicol. Inject on both sides.

 

Option two: Florfenicol combined with kanamycin, injected intramuscularly at separate sites on each side. Do not mix them in the same syringe.

 

Note: Cephalosporins and florfenicol have a pharmacological antagonism. Use dexamethasone with caution in pregnant pigs. This regimen is for emergency use only.

 

 

One-sentence summary

 

Watch their gait: backward walking—edema; stiff hind legs—Toxoplasma gondii; rolling onto their side and righting themselves—pseudorabies

 

Observe breathing: positive wave pattern suggests Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae; inverted wave pattern suggests contagious pleuropneumonia; groin breathing—watch for PRRS.

 

Watch for neurological signs: Streptococcus dysgalactiae encephalitis in the limbs; beware of tremors throughout the body, a sign of tremor disease.

 

Check the feces: green, watery feces may indicate chronic paratyphoid.

 

These 9 common respiratory diseases in pigs account for more than 90% of coughing and breathing problems on pig farms. Their symptoms are distinctive, and the treatment plans are practical to implement. Pig farmers are advised to save this reference for direct consultation in the event of a sudden illness on the farm.

 

Once we’ve learned to identify pigs with coughing and breathing problems, be sure to mark the sick pigs we’ve picked out, the isolated pigs, and those awaiting recheck. We recommend keeping veterinary marking crayons on hand and using three colors to distinguish them. The marks hold firmly and are not easily rubbed off, making it easy to tell at a glance which pigs need injections, isolation, or rechecks, and helping prevent repeat medication or injections being given to the wrong pigs. This small tool helps put the results of identifying symptoms into practice. Pig farmers who need it can take a look.