Even healthy pigs can give producers a headache

 

In his own words, Jos Rooijackers’ biggest concern is that pig producers are caught in the middle. “They have

many physical symptoms but once they are screened by doctors, nothing can be found. Hence, health insurance companies are not willing to pay. That, for me, was very important to join initiatives to ask for more attention to be paid to this problem.”

 

Rooijackers, age 50, is a Dutch chest physician, working at the Netherlands Expertise Centre for Occupational Respiratory Disorders (Necord), located in the city of Utrecht. As his full focus is work-related lung diseases in humans, he has a bridge function between the day-to-day practice and the academic world of lung research.

 

Rooijackers explains that in agriculture and related occupations lung problems are fairly common, for instance poultry producers (feathers) or bakers (meal) have been known to develop lung disease symptoms. Swine producers also belong to this group, although he feels the topic remains somewhat uncovered. “I have been invited to a meeting of a Dutch parliamentary commission evaluating animal welfare,” he explains, “and it is wonderful to see how many initiatives have been developed to guarantee pig welfare. But what about the producers themselves?”Many pig producers are known to have developed respiratory-disease related symptoms, earlier studies indicate the percentage is between 10-30%. Symptoms may vary from occasional difficulty with breathing when being inside a pig operation to heavy coughing, shivering, transpiration, aching joints and fever which continue long after a producer has left a swine house.

 

Rooijackers was involved in setting up a Dutch network group around the problem, in which swine producers, health professionals and authorities could share experiences and find solutions – and ask for more awareness among producers. One of the first steps to get there was by launching a questionnaire at national Dutch livestock shows, in which producers were asked to give information about their perception of their own lung health, to get a better idea of the size of the problem.

 

Rooijackers says, “Most pig producers suffering from respiratory problems, actually do acknowledge this fact. And they also know that something needs be done about it. But how – they don’t know.”

 

Lung problems can be created by several different causes, each of which can be called ‘irritants’. Often, correct detection of the exact cause is difficult as symptoms occur in combinations, varying from person to person in severity and clinical signs. Rooijackers says, “First, there is dust and skin particles. These can be shedded by pigs or poultry themselves, but can also come from straw or from animal feed. Secondly, ammonia has a strong effect on the lungs. Thirdly, there are endotoxines – these are toxins created by bacteria and fungi. In high concentrations, these can be toxic for humans.”

 

“Last but not least, I’d like to mention the Methycillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) bacteria, which

has been proven to exist in pig populations. It can also cause disease in humans and has been shown to jump from pigs to humans.”

 

Symptoms can be only incidental – but could also become chronic. In the worst case, symptoms may not even disappear at all – and producers may even suffer when being in the fresh air. For instance, among pigeon breeders, hypersensitivity pneumonitis and lung fibrosis is a well-known effect, occurring due to a permanent exposure to feathers and excretions. Hay can have the same effect on certain farmers. Rooijackers further mentions ‘Organic Dust Toxic Syndrome’ (ODTS), in which he copied down clinical signs as nausea, shortness of breath, myalgia and coughing.

 

He emphasises that for insurance matters, the division between ‘harmful’ and ‘bothersome’ is a fine line. Since most symptoms often disappear once producers are in fresh air, symptoms are simply classified as ‘bothersome’. “Often, producers get the impression that insurance companies do not believe them if they suffer from certain symptoms.”

 

The other side of the coin, however, is that these symptoms can lead to something worse. This is the reason why Rooijackers feels that more attention needs to be given to the problem. The network group, for this reason, has launched a lobby in governmental circles to ask that more attention be paid to the problem.

 

In the meantime, producers themselves can do something to make their life easier. Individual protection is a relatively simple solution (see Box Practical example: Erik Ordelman). In addition, taking care of a more healthy and natural ventilation system is another. Rooijackers says, “Recently, more attention towards air cleaning systems has been asked for, to make sure the environment does not suffer from bad odours. No-one however, so far, has asked any questions about the air quality inside the barns.” Wageningen University and Research Centre is working to fill that gap and hopes to find solutions in this direction (see Box Research on (biological) farms).

 

 

 

Source: Pig Progress magazine Volume 26 No.3