Infectious Enteric Diseasses in Pigs

Infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract of pigs significantly impact animal health, animal welfare and finally the economic outcome of any pig production worldwide. Preventing enteric diseases in pigs allows producers maximising the average daily weight gain and the feed conversion ratio in pigs, thereby making pig production a very meaningful process of protein refinement and source of food products. Bacterial diseases of the gastrointestinal tract of pigs often necessitate the use of antimicrobials, which can create antimicrobial resistance that threats both animals and humans. Many viral diseases of the gastrointestinal tract provoke long-lasting damage of the gut and/or the gut function, which causes poor performance and an extended period from birth to slaughter along with the need of more resources to reach slaughter weight. Therefore, farmers and veterinarians should focus on the prevention of infectious enteric diseases by means of vaccination where justified and improved internal and external biosecurity and last but not the least by optimised management of the different age and production categories of pigs. In this chapter, bacterial, parasitical and viral diseases of pigs are described for the corresponding age category, where they have the major impact.