View from the Farm- Mycoplasmal pneumonia John A Korslund DVM Korn-Land Hog Farm th St. Eagle Grove IA 50533

My Farm

My Credentials: Extensive Clinical Experience- n=1 herd 40 years among hogs Reading and meeting “junkie” On Beth Lautner’s list!

1970’s Finishing Pig Driven on the gravel The drive is leisurely Continuous flow Mixed infections Mixed immunity Little pigs in one end/ big pigs out the other Continuous treatment Mycoplasma always there Production ebb and flow

2002 Finishing Pig Driven on the race track The drive is fast and crowded AIAO Separate Site Flow Fewer resident infections Little natural immunity No new pigs until old ones all gone- new naïveté No treatment until a problem Mycoplasma not there?? Production high or very low

Differences related to Mycoplasma Continuous Flow Weaned older Pathogen transfer Immunity wear-down Rolling infection Non-massive dose Antibiotic suppression Separate Site Weaned younger < Pathogen transfer Epidemic infection Massive dose No antibiotic suppression

Elements of Our Mycoplasmal Control Program Separate site AIAO production Early weaning High levels of passive immunity Nursery antibiotics Denaguard/CTC Lincomix 200 Monitoring

Results of Recent Monitoring Clinical disease not been a problem Coughing has been minimal Pigs are NOT all M. hyo.-free Other viral pathogens have been present w/o flare-ups of M. hyo.

Continuous Flow/2 Ages

Perfection!

Slight Bleed-through/SIV H1N1

Outside Pigs-AIAO

Troubles, but not Mycoplasma!

Extra Expense from Clinical Signs

Active or Maternal??

Cost of Our Control Program Cost lowered by early medication Piglet vaccine not used Extra handling avoided Avg. Dose/Sow

Why Don’t We Vaccinate Pigs? We haven’t needed to! Labor considerations/ timing Broken needles/ abscesses Cost

Where Vaccine Should Be Used Older weaning ages Variable passive immunity Young sow herd Severe secondary (co-)infections PRRS Influenza “Community” nurseries/ commingled weanlings Finishing barn concentration areas History of PRDC

Feed-Grade Antibiotics Economics is poor for continuous use $30 per ton at 5 lb per day costs $.50 per pig per week. Even 3 pulses will take 15% of a $10 profit Regulatory future is uncertain Need to retain Rx as treatment for humane responsibility to the animals

New Treatments? Is the market there? If eradication schemes make progress? If feed grade antibiotics go away? If animal health divestiture continues? If vaccines improve? Where is the line between diagnostics, vaccines, and treatments? USDA-vaccines, diagnostics? FDA-”drugs” EPA-oral/aerosol products/transgenics?

Ideal Treatment Concepts Eradicate organism from the sow herd Prevent/treat infection of piglets Eradicate organism from juvenile pig Easily administered “-cidal” entities to pigs

Faster/ Better/ Cheaper… Living with M. hyo. is not economically sustainable “How do we treat?” is the wrong question in the long term “Treatment” needs to be viewed as a systems approach toward elimination of economic losses, if not eradication More success may lead to fewer treatment options (pharmaceutical economics)

Thank-you!