INTEGRATED QUALITY-CONTROL PROJECT - RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS DETECTED AT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE AND INFORMATION GATHERED INA VETERINARY HEALTH SCHEME AT PIG FARMS

In September 1986 an Integrated Quality Control Project (IQC) was star ted in the Netherlands. Over a period of 2 years a veterinary herd hea lth scheme was applied to 21 growing and finishing pig herds. Informat ion was collected concerning medical treatment, classified as group tr eatment and individual treatment, clinical observations, and housing f actors. The main purpose of this project was to investigate relationsh ips between pathological findings detected at the slaughterhouse and i nformation gathered on the farm. Medical group treatments, clinical ob servations and housing did not reliably predict pathological findings. Individual medical treatment for respiratory disorders, started in th e last 30 days before slaughter, proved to be positively related to th e the pathological findings 'pneumonia' and 'pleuritis' detected at th e slaughterhouse. This may be useful for selecting pigs at the slaught erhouse that will require special treatment for the removal of the ple ura parietalis. During the first year of the project the average daily gain (ADG) was 27.2 g. more than during the preceding 2 years (P<0.00 01). Coughing was negatively related with the ADG. More than 75 coughs per compartment during 10 minutes, recorded more than 50 days before slaughter, was positively related to a depression of the ADG (20 g; P< 0.05). Relationships between group medical treatments and ADG were sta tistically significant, when the group medical treatment was started m ore than 20 days before slaughter. Negative influences on the ADG were higher if the treatment was started closer to the slaughter date. Dis regarding the reason for medical treatment, the depression of the ADG amounted to 23.8, 11.3, 3.9 and -5.9 g per day for intervals between m edical treatment and slaughter of 21-40, 41-60, 61-80 and 81-100 days, respectively. Blood samples were taken at slaughter from 20% of the s laughtered pigs. A total of 2039 blood samples were serologically test ed for antibodies against Actinobacillus pleuropneumnoniae (type 2 and 9) and influenza virus (type H1N1 and H3N2). Blood samples from pigs from all the farms showed antibodies against influenza H1N1, pigs from 95% of the farms had positive blood samples for Actinobacillus pleuro pneumoniae type 2 and 9, while pigs from 86% of the farms had positive blood samples for Influenza H3N2.