The skin is the largest body organ and forms a barrier between the animal and its environment. Skin disease in pig can adversely impact production by causing a significant decrease in the growth rate and feed efficiency and thus result in economic losses to the farmers. Some common skin infections in pig are briefly discussed below for the awareness of the pig farmers
- Greasy pig disease- caused by a bacteria, usually infect pigs of 1-8 weeks of age. Symptoms may include moist greasy exudates with sebum or scabby patches of skin.
- Erysipelas (Diamond skin disease)- caused by a bacteria. Symptoms usually seen is red diamond shaped patches on the skin.
- Swine pox- it is associated with poor sanitation. Pigs less than 3-4 month of age are affected with pox like lesions on the body
- Ringworms- small reddish brown ring like lesions of 1-2 cm diameter that may reach upto 12cm in diameter. Occurrences are common behind the ears.
- Dermatomes- are of two types ie Parasitic and Parakeratosis Dermatomes. Parasitic is caused either by mites, lice and biting flies. Severe itching is commonly seen in parasitic dermatomes. In Parakeratosis it is usually caused by deficiency of the mineral zinc .Seen in pigs above 2 months .Symptoms include poor growth, red raised areas appears on the skin of stomach and lower legs which change into thick scales and crust that spread to most of the skin of the body
Some Steps to Prevent Skin Infection in Pigs: - Proper sanitation is very important .Regular cleaning of pig sty and bathing the pigs reduces parasitic infections.
- Routine application of insecticides/disinfectants in and around the pig sty.
- Regular and timely deworming and vaccination.
- Feed well balanced nutritious diet daily with adequate balance amount of minerals and vitamins mixtures.
- Daily inspection of your pigs for any infected/ sick/diseased pig
- Any infected/sick/diseased pig should be isolated from the healthy stock immediately.
Prevention is obviously better than cure, thus having a farm health plan will help to minimise disease incidence. Although skin problem in pig are relatively less compared to pet animals but the difficulty in diagnosis and treatment remains almost the same. Therefore consult or visit the nearest Veterinary Health Centres if any pig in your farm shows skin infection/sick/diseased signs and symptoms for early diagnosis and proper treatment.
Veterinary Hospital Kohima
