- 5 minutes
- Article in Others
- Prevention Works
Bacterial competition in the newborn piglet
It is important to prevent newborn piglets becoming infected with disease-causing pathogens during the birth process.
First colonization
- Foetuses are sterile in the uterus and till immediately before birth.
- Bacterial invasion and colonization of piglets starts during the birth process. Bacteria originating from the maternal birth-canal and digestive tract, as well as bacteria from the environment will rapidly colonise the skin, mucosa and intestines of the piglets.
Who is quicker?
- The health-promoting lactobacilli are in competition with diseasecausing pathogenic bacteria such as Streptococcal spp., E.coli and Clostridium perfringens.
- Iron-injection before the 3rd day after birth may have a detrimental effect: Iron has a growth promoting effect on many pathogenic bacteria. The competition between good and bad bacteria may therefore be negatively influenced and disease causing infections may be amplified.
The cleaner, the better!
A quick and straightforward birth-process brings more certainty.