E-Coli in Pigs

case study E-coli in pigs E. coli induced diarrhoea costs pig farmers in the UK up to £3.7 million each year. Jointly with a research group in Denmark, The Roslin Institute has developed a genetic test that is now being used by pig breeding companies around the world to select animals that are not susceptible to a strain of E. coli induced diarrhoea called swine dysentery. This could significantly reduce the cost of the disease to the UK economy. The challenge Swine dysentery first emerged as a problem in the 1920s and caused major losses in pig raising countries around the world until methods of control were developed in the 1970s and ‘80s. In recent years there has been a resurgence of Swine Dysentery in the UK and other pig producing countries. This has mainly been because of an increase in outdoor units and the ability of the bacteria to survive outdoors. According to DEFRA, the disease remains one of the four most important conditions affecting pig farmers in the UK today. The high cost of disease is associated with mortality, morbidity, reduced growth rates, poor feed conversion efficiency and costs of continual in-feed medication. The Solution Research into the genetic characteristics linked to the susceptibility of young pigs to E. coli induced diarrhoea began in the mid-1980s. The research was undertaken by an international team of researchers including scientists from The Roslin Institute, who were able to identify and patent a method of detecting resistance to enterotoxigenic E. coli in pigs. The patented test has since been licensed to a number of gene analysis service providers for the pig breeding industry in Europe (Netherlands) and in Australia enabling pig breeders to use it to select animals that are not susceptible to E. coli induced diarrhoea. The Impact In 2011 the UK pig herd consisted of more than 4.4 million animals. Estimates of the prevalence of the disease vary from between 10% and 33% and it is believed that approximately 25% of piglets with diarrhoea have relevant E. coli present. According to recent estimates, pig producers in the UK could be losing between £4 and £10 per pig due to reduced growth rates. If implemented in the UK herd, the approach developed by The Roslin Institute and its partners could reduce the cost to the UK economy of E. coli induced diarrhoea in pigs by between 80% and 90%. This amounts to a total saving of between £0.4 million and £2.9 million per year for the UK pig farming industry, of which up to £0.4 million could be directly attributed to The Roslin Institute. n