Reduction of antibiotic use to treat post-weaning diarrhoea following oral vaccination with Escherichia coli F4 : Case report

摘要

Post-weaning Escherichia coli diarrhoea (PWD), also called post-weaning enteric colibacillosis, in pigs remains a major cause of economic losses for the pig industry, due to either piglet death, or poor weight gain in surviving piglets.12 PWD typically causes mild to severe watety diatthoea between 5 and 10 days after weaning and is caused primarily by enterotoxigenic Escherichia, coli (ETEC). The most common adhesins found on ETEC from PWD in pigs are associated with fimbriae F4 (previously called K88) and F18, while the predominant enterotoxins are heat-labile toxin (LT), heat-stable toxin a (STa), and heat-stable toxin b (STb). In addition to F4 and F18, othet fimbtial adhesins, such as F5 (K99), F6 (987P), and F7 (F4l), have been associated with PWD, but less frequently.The ptesented case report shows the impact of vaccination on overall post-weaning piglet health following vaccination with a live non-pathogenic E. coli F4 vaccine.