Pathogenic Factors and Treatment Measures of Nutritional Diarrhea in Pigs

Core tip: nutritional diarrhea is mainly caused by improper feeding and management, damp pig house, poor ventilation, no heat preservation in winter, no cooling in summer, sudden change of feed, lack of copper, iron, zinc, selenium in feed, etc., causing digestion and absorption disorders and diarrhea. Distinct the cause and treat the cause.

1 Causes of Nutritional Diarrhea in Weaned Piglets

The etiology of nutritional diarrhea in weaned piglets is very complex. A large number of studies have shown that the main factors of nutritional diarrhea are: lack of vitamins, lack of mineral elements, high crude protein content in feed, electrolyte imbalance and so on.

Deficiency of 1.1 vitamins

Vitamin is one of the important nutritional components of pigs. It can not only be used as a coenzyme of many enzymes in pigs, but also participate in the digestion, absorption and metabolism of nutrients, and participate in the whole life activity process. Vitamins can directly or indirectly affect pig growth, organ and tissue development. Vitamin deficiency can cause a series of deficiencies, which can cause diarrhea in piglets mainly vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin PP and pantothenic acid deficiency.

Vitamin B1 deficiency when the clinical manifestations of piglets vomiting, diarrhea, growth arrest.

Vitamin B2 deficiency, piglets showed vomiting, anal mucosal inflammation and diarrhea.

The lack of vitamin PP, which can promote iron absorption and erythropoiesis, can cause metabolic disorders of protein, fat and sugar, lead to chronic indigestion, and even cause diarrhea due to diffuse enteritis.

Pantothenic acid is a component of coenzyme A in piglets, which plays an important role in maintaining the normal function of the digestive tract and improving disease resistance.

1.2 mineral element deficiency

The main mineral elements directly related to piglet diarrhea are iron, zinc and selenium.

Iron as a necessary mineral element in piglets, lack of iron deficiency anemia can cause piglets, leading to reduced disease resistance, susceptible to pathogenic bacteria, diarrhea and even death.

Zinc deficiency can make gastrointestinal mucosal inflammation, gastrointestinal motility, secretion dysfunction, so that the activity of zinc-containing digestive enzymes decreased, causing a decline in nutrient digestion and absorption rate, so that the accumulation of chyme in the gastrointestinal tract, causing diarrhea in piglets.

Selenium, as a constituent of GSH-PX (glutathione peroxidase), is involved in preventing the accumulation of peroxides and protecting cell membranes from peroxide damage. When selenium deficiency occurs, GSH-PX activity decreases, and the lipid membrane of gastrointestinal smooth muscle cells will undergo qualitative changes due to peroxidation, resulting in digestive disorders and intractable diarrhea in piglets.

Excessive crude protein content in 1.3 feed

The development of digestive tract and its enzyme system of weaned piglets is not perfect, which leads to the low digestibility of protein and the imbalance of the proportion of essential amino acids in the diet. Especially when the dietary crude protein level is high, more dietary protein enters the large intestine and decomposes, producing a large amount of toxic amines such as cadaverine and putrescine, which in turn causes damage to the intestinal wall tissue, accelerates the peristalsis and secretion of the intestinal tract, weakens the ability of the colon to absorb water, and at the same time makes the intestinal villi edema, eventually causing dyspeptic diarrhea. A number of studies have also shown that dietary protein itself is not the only factor that plays a role, and there are also allergic reactions to certain proteins. Some scholars have pointed out that the intestinal tract of piglets is allergic to dietary antigens, which leads to intestinal damage, which is the main cause of diarrhea after weaning. Allergic diarrhea of piglets after weaning is related to dietary protein types, among which plant protein is an important antigenic substance that causes intestinal allergic reactions in piglets.

1.4 electrolyte imbalance

Electrolyte balance plays an important role in the osmotic pressure, acid-base balance, water and salt metabolism of piglets, which is closely related to indigestion and diarrhea of piglets. The electrolyte balance in the diet can directly affect the electrolyte balance in the body and digestive tract of piglets, and the mineral ions in the feed are the main source of electrolytes in the body. Electrolyte imbalance can easily cause the imbalance of electrolytes in the body and digestive tract of piglets, and eventually lead to diarrhea of piglets.

1.5 the PH value of the diet is too high

Weaned piglets themselves have low gastric fundus glands, the connection between stomach and nervous system has not been fully established, and the function of gastric glands is poor, resulting in high PH value in the stomach. If the PH value in the diet is too high, it will lead to a decrease in gastric acidity, provide a suitable living environment for pathogenic bacteria, and then multiply in large quantities, causing inflammation and edema of the intestinal wall, reducing digestion and absorption capacity, and accumulating a large amount of water and nutrients in the intestinal cavity, thus causing piglets diarrhea, dehydration, and even death.

1.6 feed contains toxic substances and anti-nutrients

Oxidative rancidity, moldy, expired failure, excessive trace elements, feed containing toxic substances (such as gossypol, erucic acid, tannin, etc.) are likely to cause diarrhea in piglets. Dietary formula of light diarrhea feed ingredients too much, can also cause diarrhea piglets.

2 comprehensive preventive measures of nutritional diarrhea in piglets

Numerous studies have shown that the focus on the prevention of nutritional diarrhea in piglets, domestic and foreign scholars from the digestive and physiological characteristics of weaned piglets, according to the cause of nutritional diarrhea after weaning piglets, put forward many effective preventive measures, the following focuses on some preventive measures in addition to the use of antibiotics.

2.1 diet preparation

According to the digestive physiological characteristics of weaned piglets, the key to prevent nutritional diarrhea is to select feed materials that are easy to digest and absorb, design scientific and reasonable formula, and prepare diets that are balanced in nutrients and easy to digest and absorb. Many domestic experts pointed out that reducing the protein level of the diet can reduce the incidence of diarrhea and help improve digestion. Some foreign experts believe that increasing dietary crude fiber levels has a direct effect on reducing the duration and severity of post-weaning diarrhea. It has also been reported that the appropriate amount of crude fiber in the diet can reduce the concentration of dietary nutrients and improve the sense of satiety, so that nutrient intake and digestive ability of piglets balance, and promote gastrointestinal peristalsis and chyme flow, increase the elimination of pathogenic bacteria, thereby reducing the incidence of diarrhea.

2.2 reduction of allergic reactions to dietary antigens