Worms

Ascaris Suum

Ascaris suum is a large roundworm around 30cm in length and produces up to 250,000 eggs per day. Infection is by ingesting faeces/soil with worm eggs which contain larvae that burst out of the egg, migrate through the body tissues to the liver, then lungs, are coughed up, swallowed and then mature to adults in the small intestine. It takes approximately 60 days for an egg to become an adult producing eggs. The eggs are very resistant to desiccation and thus pigs reared on dirt are most commonly infested. Ascarids may cause a reduced growth rate and a cough. White spots may be seen in the liver, however these lesions only persist for 35 days after migration.

Trichuris Suis

Trichuris suis is a 5-8cm long whipworm that penetrates the wall of the caecum and colon. They will only cause clinical disease in heavy infestations and can allow invasion by secondary bacteria. Signs can be similar to swine dysentery or ileitis with bloody diarrhoea, poor growth rate and dehydration.

Oesophagostmum Spp

Oesophagostomum is a nodular worm about 1cm long that sits in the large intestine and does little harm, but larvae can encyst in the intestinal wall and cause emaciation in heavy infestations.

Prevention/Control

It is advisable to have faecal egg counts conducted twice yearly to determine the level of worms on your farm. Slaughter checks are useful in identifying the worms and seeing the extent of lesions that are resulting. A veterinrain can conduct faecal egg counts or slaughter checks to determine worm infestation in your pigs (see below for method and cost). Steps can then be followed to reduce the worm level by improving sanitation and using an anthelmintic strategically.

There are a number of registered anthelmintics for use in pigs. There is a choice of in-feed or injectable products that have different regimes varying from a single application to continuous administration.

In feed anthelmintics

• Wormtec 30 (morantel citrate) - continuous
• Ivomec Premix for Pigs (ivermectin) - 7 days
• Nilverm Pig & Poultry Wormer (levamizole) - once

Injectable

• Dectomax Injectable
• Ivomec Antiparasitic Injection for Pigs

The choice of which anthelmintic to use is based on severity of worm infestation, cost of the product, cost of implementing the program and ease of administering the medication. For farms with low or no evidence of worms, it is advisable that all introduced stock are treated with an injectable formula whilst in quarantine to ensure worms are not introduced.

Transmission of eggs can occur from sow to piglets so treatment of sows before farrowing is highly recommended.

Faecal Egg Counts

Collect 20 samples of faeces from pigs in the herd - ideally 10 from sows and 10 from finisher pigs. Collect in plastic bags or specimen containers. Store in refrigerator then transport in an esky with ice bricks to our lab.

Cost is $80 + GST for a Farm Screening

Slaughter Checks

This is conducted by aveterinarian, who examines for not only worm infestation, but levels of other diseases affecting the gastrointestinal, respiratory, urogenital and other systems. This service is recommended to be done quarterly.