Occurrence: Worldwide, especially high health status herds Age affected: Growers / finishers, gilts
Photo: Steven McOrist

Effects: Sudden death, black or blood-stained dung.

• Detailed causes
• Clinical signs
• Diagnosis
• Treatment and control

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Detailed causes

Proliferative enteropathy (PE, Ileitis) – general term for necrotic enteritis (NE), regional ileitis (RI), porcine intestinal adenopathy (PIA) and proliferative haemorrhagic enteropathy (PHE).

Proliferative enteropathy is caused by a bacterium, Lawsonia intracellularis, which reproduces in cells. It is a Gram negative, curved, rod-shaped organism with tapered ends and can be grown artificially in cell cultures by a few specialised laboratories worldwide. The organism can produce micro-colonies after 7-14 days and can survive outside cells for up to 2 weeks at 5˚C but not multiply. Pure cultures of the organism cause all forms of the disease. The bacteria enter cells lining the intestine, usually those of the end of the small intestine (ileum) and sometimes those in the large intestine, and multiply, causing the cells to become immature in appearance, eliminating the absorptive villi and encouraging the crypts between them to lengthen, thus making the intestinal lining no-absorptive, thick and lumpy in infected areas. Inflammation occurs with loss of red (and some white) blood cells and infected intestinal epithelial cells. As the intestine recovers, the thick mucosa may break down and become necrotic as in Necrotic Ileitis, eventually giving rise to thickening of the muscular coats in Regional Ileitis or "hosepipe gut". Faster breakdown can cause massive blood loss into the ileum to cause Proliferative haemorrhagic Enteropathy. Recovered pigs are immune to re-infection.

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Clinical signs

Proliferative enteropathy (PE, Ileitis) – general term for necrotic enteritis (NE), regional ileitis (RI), porcine intestinal adenopathy (PIA) and proliferative haemorrhagic enteropathy (PHE).

Clinical disease is most commonly seen in recently-weaned pigs and lasts for about 6 weeks. It has an incubation period of 3-6 weeks and can occur in animals of any age from 3-4 weeks to adults. The first signs are failure to gain weight or loss of weight and varying degrees of inappetence. Affected pigs appear pale, may vomit, are anaemic and may have blackened faeces due to the presence of black, altered blood. Some animals pass loose granular faeces which spread on concrete like potions of wet cement especially where infections with organisms such as spirochaetes are present. After 4-6 weeks affected pigs may recovered completely. Some die suddenly at this stage with proliferative haemorrhagic enteropathy. These usually appear pale with a low body temperature (37.8˚C, 100˚F) 1-2 hours prior to death and may be of any age from 6-10 weeks upwards. Breeding stock may die suddenly from proliferative haemorrhagic enteropathy when the disease first enters a herd. Twelve percent of a newly infected herd may be affected and 6% may die. Some recovered animals remain stunted. They may appear thin, pale and may have mild diarrhoea.

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Diagnosis

Proliferative enteropathy and its related syndromes (NE, PIA, PHE and RI) should be considered if growing pigs become pale with loss of condition and blackened faeces is present. In older pigs, these signs and the sudden deaths from proliferative haemorrhagic enteropathy could also be due to gastric ulceration. Diarrhoea or loose faeces is not a reliable indicator of the disease. Proliferative enteropathy can be confirmed at post-mortem examination of affected pigs. The terminal ileum is thickened, pale and its lining is contorted into fold which resist stretching. Parts of the large intestine may also be affected. There may be clots of blood in the affected bowel and this blood appears black once it reaches the large intestine. Gastric ulceration is absent. The affected gut lining can be covered with dead tissue. Laboratory tests confirm the presence of the disease or infection. Characteristic changes in the arrangement of the cells of the intestinal lining can be seen by microscopy. The organisms can be demonstrated in, or isolated from, these cells and confirmed as Lawsonia intracellularis. L. intracellularis can also be identified in faeces by the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and antibody to it may be detected in the blood of infected herds.

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Treatment and control

Proliferative enteropathy (PE, Ileitis) – general term for necrotic enteritis (NE), regional ileitis (RI), porcine intestinal adenopathy (PIA) and proliferative haemorrhagic enteropathy (PHE).

Individual clinically-affected pigs may be treated with injectable long-acting tetracycline or antimicrobials such as tylosin, tiamulin and lincomycin. Water medication of affected groups with tetracycline, tylosin, tiamulin or lincomycin usually results in a clinical cure. Chlortetracycline treatment in feed for two weeks will have the same effect and valnemulin, tiamulin or tylosin are also effective. As disease can recur 3 weeks after the end of treatment in infected groups, a second course of treatment is often given 18 days after the end of the first course. When spirochaetosis, salmonellosis or other bacterial disease is present, the treatment should be modified accordingly. Control is based on treatment. This may be given continuously at low level, but disease will recur after the treatment is discontinued. Most commonly, two courses of treatment are given, beginning 18 days after entry to a house or earlier if the disease occurs before this. Disinfection with quaternary ammonium, iodine and oxidising disinfectants at the end of period of treatment and rodent control reduce the chances of re-infection. Herds founded by hysterectomy and maintained in isolation are usually free from the disease, but may become infected. Breeding stock should come from clean herds. There is no vaccine.

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