Evaluation of the Level of Parasites Infection in Pigs as an Element of Sustainable Pig Production

Abstract

Pig production is based on routine deworming and very rarely includes endoparasitological diagnosis. Monitoring pig production through a consideration of endoparasites in the herd should be part of the pig health program, which will directly translate into the amount of production costs and improve the condition of animals. The aim of this study was the diagnosis of endoparasitic infection in sows and piglets as an element of sustainable pig production. Parasitological examination was performed using coproscopic methods. The experimental material were faeces collected from the same sows from gestation to lactation and their piglets. The total number of coproscopic samples was 840. In the collected material Oesophagostomum spp., Ascaris suum and Eimeria spp. in sows were diagnosed, while in piglets, Eimeria spp. and Oesophagostomum spp were diagnosed. A relationship between the intensity of coccidian infections of lactating sows and the intensity of the infection of piglets was also demonstrated (rs = 0.57; p = 0.035). Sows are the primary source of infections in piglets. The assessment of infection intensity using diagnostic methods in sows should be the basis of an endoparasite control, because deworming without a prior diagnostic gives a short term effect and excludes the principles of the sustainable development of pig production.