Abstract
Lactogenic immunity transferred to piglets after inoculation of a live vaccine to pregnant sows was proved limited to control porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). Hence, here we evaluated the efficacy of administration of a probiotic compound containing Bacillus mesentericus, Clostridium butyricum, and Enterococcus faecalis together with a commercial live-attenuated PED vaccine (Nisseiken PED Live Vaccine, Nisseiken, Tokyo, Japan) to improve the health and reproductive performance of PED-infected sows. Twenty pregnant sows in a PED-positive farm were equally divided into probiotics-administered (VP) and control (VC) sow groups. A commercial live-attenuated vaccine was injected as per the manufacturer’s instruction. The probiotic compound (15 g/day) was orally administered to VP from 6 weeks pre-parturition to 7 days post-parturition (ppd7). VP had a significantly higher body weight at ppd7 than VC (191 vs 186 kg; P < 0.05). At day 3 post-parturition (ppd3) (4.18 vs 3.63 kg/day) and ppd7 (5.14 vs 4.34 kg/day), milk produced by VP was significantly (P < 0.05) greater than that by VC. Total immunoglobulin (Ig)A and IgG concentrations at day 0 were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in whey of VP (1.9 and 6.6 g/dL, respectively) than in that of VC (1.7 and 6.1 g/dL, respectively). However, total IgG concentration in whey of VP and VC at ppd3 and ppd7 did not differ. Antibody titer was significantly higher at day 0 in serum of VP than it was that of VC (60 vs 37 in geometric mean; P < 0.05). Likewise, the antibody titer in whey of VP and VC was found to be similar at day 0 (416 vs 208 in geometric mean; P = 0.13). Consequently, VP had fewer days between weaning and return to estrus than did VC (7 vs 10 days; P < 0.05). Moreover, piglets of VP had a significantly (P < 0.05) higher litter weight at birth (9,252 g/litter) and a lower mortality (12%) during suckling than those of VC (8,686 g/litter and 28%, respectively). In summary, probiotic-supplemented, PED-vaccinated sows were healthier, transferred PED-specific antibodies via colostrum to piglets, had greater litter weight at birth, and reduced mortality during suckling.
Highlights
Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is an enteric disease that causes severe economic losses to the pig industry worldwide [1]
We demonstrated that a probiotic compound containing Bacillus mesentericus, Clostridium butyricum, and E. faecalis prevented colibacillosis in weaning piglets [29]
Probiotic compound had a significantly higher (P < 0.001) feed intake before (2.85 kg) and after parturition (3.62 kg) compared with sows vaccinated against PED virus but receiving no dietary probiotic supplementation (2.69 and 3.20 kg, respectively)
Summary
Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is an enteric disease that causes severe economic losses to the pig industry worldwide [1]. The PED strains emerged in Asia are quite distinct from those previously reported [5], as they cause more deleterious effects on all pigs regardless of age [6]. The deleterious effects of PED on reproductive performance of gilts and sows depend on the pregnancy stage during which they contract the disease [12]. Depressed milk secretion has been previously reported in PEDinfected sows [9], the extent of the effect of this viral infection on lactating sows, including passive immunity or the health status and survival rate of suckling piglets, is yet to be fully investigated
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