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A healthy gut is a solid foundation for a pig’s lifetime performance.
During the first weeks of life, piglets’ digestive and immune systems are still developing.
Challenges such as stress, dietary and environmental changes at weaning time can affect appetite, damage the gut lining and disrupt the microbiome, making it a high-risk period for digestive disease.
Emma Sargent, technical manager for swine at MSD explained: “It’s crucial that we prioritise gut health during this window in order to improve nutrient uptake, build immune resilience and prevent long‑term production losses.
"If gut health is compromised feed efficiency suffers - meaning the pig won’t achieve expected growth rates and days to finish will be increased.”
Post-weaning ileitis
Ileitis is one of the most common digestive diseases in growing pigs and is caused by the Lawsonia intracellularis bacteria.
The pathogen is shed in faeces and is easily picked up from the pig’s environment via their mouths.
Clinical signs of ileitis present as diarrhoea or faecal looseness, often grey or pasty in appearance, but subclinical infection is common.
Although most pigs recover from the visible signs of infection, the resulting inflammation in the gut affects long-term food absorption.
“Given that feed accounts for over 70% of the cost of pig production, the economic cost of ileitis to farmers is significant.
“The reduced nutrient absorption caused by ileitis compromises performance and wastes expensive additives like lysine.
"Because the ileum is so essential to the way feed is digested, farmers see a significant impact to ADWG and FCR right up until slaughter," Sargent continued.
Long-term digestive problems
Although ileitis is commonly associated with scour in weaned piglets, the long-term damage to gut integrity persists for the rest of the pig's life.
These lasting effects can be seen on post-mortem exam, where thickening of gut folds and ridges can easily be observed in diseased ileums.
Within groups of finished pigs, it is common to see a wide range of severity, and this may explain why batch unevenness is a common feature of subclinical ileitis.
“Gut health in pigs is a growing area of research and we’re learning more about the complexity of the microbiome.
"For example, recent papers have highlighted a link between ileitis and secondary enteric infections, such as Brachyspira and Salmonella.
"There is some evidence that effective vaccination against ileitis may reduce disruption of the gut microbiome, which can allow other pathogens to populate the gut,” Sargent said.
Control measures and vaccination
Farmers can improve general gut health across the herd in conjunction with both their vet and their nutritionist.
Particular attention should be paid to weaning management, water quality and hygiene.
Your vet can test for specific pathogens and recommend treatment methods or vaccination accordingly.
The Porcilis Lawsonia vaccine can be given by intramuscular injection or intradermally using the IDAL vaccination device.
A single dose can be given from three weeks-of-age and gives 21 weeks of immunity to protect growing pigs through the fattening stage.
Vaccination with Porcilis Lawsonia has been proven to reduce diarrhoea, reduce intestinal lesions and reduce loss of daily weight gain.
It is possible to administer Porcilis Lawsonia at the same time as other MSD Animal Health vaccines against porcine circovirus, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, and PRRS to provide convenient four-way protection against the most significant diseases affecting young pigs.
“While there is much that we still don’t understand about pig gut health, we do know that protection against ileitis gives substantial, long-lasting benefits.
"Field trials have demonstrated increases in ADWG by an average of 57g compared to unvaccinated pigs and reductions in FCR from 2.47 to 2.21.
"A recent study in a British indoor farrow-to-finish unit without obvious clinical signs of ileitis showed that the vaccine not only reduced bacterial shedding and improved carcass quality and growth but also led to a lower prevalence of tail biting," Sargent concluded.
More information
Farmers should discuss their vaccination regime with their vet who can also advise on infection control and on-farm biosecurity.
Further information is available from your veterinary practitioner or MSD Animal Health, Red Oak North, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, Ireland.
MSD Animal Health can be contacted at: 01-2970220 or emailed at: vet-support.ie@msd.com
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