The surveillance resulted in two themes for further exploration and discussion: 1) digestive syndrome (with Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) in Manitoba, diarrhea, and non-infectious digestive conditions) and 2) skin syndrome (below normal trend).

Practical tips

• Extra care with biosecurity needs to be in place for the fall manure spreading season (increased risk of PED).
• Extra care is need for vehicles returning from high traffic facilities such as slaughter plants, assembly yards and rendering.
• If you suspect Rotavirus diarrhea you may want to discuss proper diagnosis, options for improved sanitation and vaccination with your herd veterinarian.
• Coccidiosis may be a new cause of diarrhea in Alberta. Call your herd veterinarian for a diagnosis and treatment options.
• If you have increased sow mortality, call your herd veterinarian to check if gastric ulcers or excess water intake may have contributed.
• If you see blisters or miscoloring of the skin call your herd veterinarian to rule out Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), African swine fever (ASF).