Abstract
The objective was to assess which swine rearing systems are used and swine’s health in Maio Island, in order to plan future strategies to improve animal and public health.
The study was carried out in the course of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières - Portugal mission in October 2012. A household survey was conducted in Alcatraz, Calheta, Figueira da Horta, Morro, Morrinho and Porto Inglês. The number of swine, gender, age, rearing system and its heath was recorded. The clinical signs of dead animals were also documented.
In a total of 1526 households, 305 swine producers were identified with an average of 4.26 animals (4.20 – 4.32) per producer. Results showed that piglets (54.89%) and females (31.18%) represented the main age and sex groups. Regarding the rearing system, 57.59% of owners reported that their animals were remain confined in piggeries, 33.99% had free access to the streets and only 8.5% lived in backyards. A total of 271 animals died in 2010 (30), 2011 (140) and 2012 (101). Although the majority of swine producers (48.69%) do not report any clinical signs prior to the animal’s death, tremble (15.69%), hyperemia of the skin (13.40%), abortion (4.92%), recumbence (0.65%) and respiratory distress (0.33%) were described for some cases. Mortality occurred between April and October, being the months of August and September mentioned by 7.53% of the producers.
The symptoms described by producers may indicate the presence of certain infectious diseases, such as African Swine Fever, easily spread in free breeding systems. However, other causes such as toxic plants, should be consider since mortality occurred mainly in the warmest months, coinciding with the rainy season when many owners free their animals to feed of existing plants in the fields.Future strategies should be focused in further laboratory investigation in order to identify cause of swine’s death. Despite of the awareness of the population to the potential presence of certain diseases on the island, it is important to continuous current ongoing projects which address the trainee of those people to recognize clinical signs, to report it to responsible authorities and to improve diagnosis, preventive and control strategies.
The study was carried out in the course of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières - Portugal mission in October 2012. A household survey was conducted in Alcatraz, Calheta, Figueira da Horta, Morro, Morrinho and Porto Inglês. The number of swine, gender, age, rearing system and its heath was recorded. The clinical signs of dead animals were also documented.
In a total of 1526 households, 305 swine producers were identified with an average of 4.26 animals (4.20 – 4.32) per producer. Results showed that piglets (54.89%) and females (31.18%) represented the main age and sex groups. Regarding the rearing system, 57.59% of owners reported that their animals were remain confined in piggeries, 33.99% had free access to the streets and only 8.5% lived in backyards. A total of 271 animals died in 2010 (30), 2011 (140) and 2012 (101). Although the majority of swine producers (48.69%) do not report any clinical signs prior to the animal’s death, tremble (15.69%), hyperemia of the skin (13.40%), abortion (4.92%), recumbence (0.65%) and respiratory distress (0.33%) were described for some cases. Mortality occurred between April and October, being the months of August and September mentioned by 7.53% of the producers.
The symptoms described by producers may indicate the presence of certain infectious diseases, such as African Swine Fever, easily spread in free breeding systems. However, other causes such as toxic plants, should be consider since mortality occurred mainly in the warmest months, coinciding with the rainy season when many owners free their animals to feed of existing plants in the fields.Future strategies should be focused in further laboratory investigation in order to identify cause of swine’s death. Despite of the awareness of the population to the potential presence of certain diseases on the island, it is important to continuous current ongoing projects which address the trainee of those people to recognize clinical signs, to report it to responsible authorities and to improve diagnosis, preventive and control strategies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 2014 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | VI Congresso da Sociedade Portuquesa de Ciências Veterinárias: Ciências Veterinárias - Praxis e Futuro - Oeiras, Portugal Duration: 3 Apr 2014 → 5 Apr 2014 Conference number: 6 |
Conference
| Conference | VI Congresso da Sociedade Portuquesa de Ciências Veterinárias |
|---|---|
| Number | 6 |
| Country/Territory | Portugal |
| City | Oeiras |
| Period | 03/04/2014 → 05/04/2014 |
