- Expertise article | May
- Yania Paz-Sánchez et al.
Examination of lung lesions at slaughterhouses provides important information regarding swine respiratory disease presence in farms worldwide. This study evaluated pulmonary lesions in pigs at slaughter and assessed their effect on productive parameters. We observed a high occurrence (73.1%) of lung lesions in a cohort of 108 pigs; these lesions were associated with primary bacterial disease or a combination of bacterial and viral pathogens. The animals with more severe lesions had lower weight gain, remained at the farm longer, and were exposed to reinfection. Through laboratory tests, we demonstrated coinfections between Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, porcine circovirus type 2, and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in affected lungs. We suggest that pigs that do not reach the desired weight at slaughter age should be sent to slaughter regardless, thus avoiding economic losses due to suboptimal productive parameters and aggravated respiratory disease by reinfection.