Hemorrhagic bowel syndrome (HBS)
The cause of hemorrhagic bowel syndrome in pigs is unknown, but it results in sudden death.
Description
Intestinal hemorrhagic syndrome is a syndrome whose cause is unknown. It is thought to occur after high carbohydrate fermentation, but this has not been proven. Affected animals have good body condition and usually are found dead near feeder, very pale and with a distended abdomen.
Symptoms
Gilts, young boars and fattening stage
- Sudden death.
- Distended abdomen.
- Pale pigs.
- On very rare occasions you can see a lot of blood in the stool, minutes before dying
Causes / Contributing Factors
- Factors that cause or contribute to the syndrome are unknown.
Diagnosis
- Necropsy identifying a hemorrhagic intestine with bloody liquid content which does not coagulate. It is important to differentiate intestinal torsion or acute ileitis.
Control / Prevention
- None.
- It is suspected that the use of fiber in feed can decrease the incidence of outbreaks.
- Some authors suggest using antibiotics in animal feed, but this has not been confirmed.
