Iron Injection in Piglets and its Effect on Infections

December 29, 2010 — 

Researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences studied the route of iron supplementation to piglets and its effects on hemoglobin, piglet growth and infectious diseases. They found that there were significantly more treatments for joint infections in pigs receiving an early iron injection than in the littermates receiving a late injection.

In modern production systems newborn pigs have no natural access to iron (Fe) in the environment and to avoid iron deficiency they need an Fe supplementation which may be given as an injection or be based on voluntary consumption. It is generally accepted¹ that hemoglobin (Hb) levels in piglets should be above 80-90 g/1000 ml blood and it is considered that higher levels should be aimed for. While early conventional Fe injection is a safe way of securing sufficient iron to all the suckling piglets, there is some evidence²³ that early Fe injection as opposed to voluntary oral Fe intake may increase the risk of joint infections and generalized infectious diseases in the piglets. The aim of the present study was to further elucidate the effect the route of Fe supplementation may have on infectious diseases in piglets, and the relationship between Hb levels during suckling and growth from birth to slaughter.

Materials and methods
The treatments were a) early (d 1-4) and b) late (d 8-12) Fe injection (Pigeron® vet, Leo), 20 litters, c) oral Fe supplementation (Porcofer, Svenska foder, 20 litters, and TorvoJärn Extra, Lantmännen, 20 litters) starting on d 3 and d) oral supplementation (as under c) and an early Fe injection.

Observations
The pigs were individually marked, weighed and blood sampled on d 2, 9, 20 and at weaning (d 33), respectively. Hb level was determined (Hemo Cue®B-Hemoglobin Fotometer [Hemo Cue AB, Ângelholm, Sweden]). The presence of joint infections was checked daily and on d 9 more thoroughly. The pigs were individually identified and recorded throughout and at slaughter. Mortality, treatments and morbidity were noted daily and all dead pigs in the trial were post-mortem examined.

Results and discussion
There were significantly more treatments for joint infections in pigs receiving an early Fe injection than in the littermates receiving a late injection. (Table 1). Also, pigs only receiving Fe by oral supplementation (Table 2) had significantly fewer joint infections than littermates also given an early Fe injection. Hb was significantly higher on d 9 and d 20 in pigs receiving an early iron injection than in littermates receiving a late Fe injection (Table 1) or only oral supplementation, respectively (table 2). For the orally supplemented pigs, daily growth to slaughter, and mortality was the same for both treatment groups (Table 2); however, for the injection groups (Table 1), growth from day 2 to slaughter tended to be lower for the late injection treatment group. The results support the proposal that early Fe injection increases the risk of piglet joint infections usually occurring in the second week of life. There are no indications in this study that pigs with high Hb levels perform better than pigs with levels of 80-110.

Tables available at: http://www.vetsweb.com/news/iron-injection-in-piglets-and-its-effect-on-infections-1815.html

Source:
Vetsweb