PSVIII-15 Phytogenics reduces medical treatment in nursery pigs affected by post-weaning diarrhea

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of phytogenics on performance, stool firmness, mortality and morbidity of weaned pigs housed in a commercial farm with historic incidence of post-weaning diarrhea associated with pathogenic E. coli. A total of 540 pigs (BW 7.34±0.9kg;) were used in a 42-day trial. Pigs were allotted by BW and sex into 30 pens (18pigs/pen). Pigs were fed a 2-phase feeding program, with each period being 14 and 28-d, respectively. Dietary treatments were: 1) Control and 2) Phytogenics (1,000 ppm Fresta®Protect, Delacon Biotechnik GmbH). Fecal score was determined daily by pen during the first 14-days (1=liquid diarrhea; 2=pasty feces; 3=formed feces; 4=well-formed feces; 5=hard feces). At day 42, fecal samples (n=15) were analyzed for copy numbers of the virulence factor genes fae (F-4 fimbria) and est-II (heat-stable toxin) by qPCR. Growth performance was not affected by treatments during phase 1. The ADG during phase 2 and overall period increased for pigs supplemented with phytogenics compared to control treatment (531 vs 501 g, P=0.015; 394 vs 375 g, P=0.025; respectively). Consequently, phytogenics tended to improve feed conversion during phase 2 and overall period compared to control treatment (1.48 vs 1.52, P=0.08; 1.46 vs 1.50, P=0.10). Phytogenics improved fecal score (3.8 vs 3.6, P< 0.001), livability (97.4% vs 96%) and decreased the percentage of pigs that required medicine to control post-weaning diarrhea (1.8% vs 2.9%) compared to the control treatment. E. coli virulence factors in feces of animals supplemented with phytogenics were numerically lower than those fed the control treatment (8.5 vs 8.9 log10/g fae gene, P=0.32; 6.8 vs 7.2 log10/g est-II gene, P=0.50). Results suggest that the phytogenics used in this experiment is beneficial during post-weaning diarrhea outbreaks by improving performance and livability and by reducing the cost associated with medical treatments in weaned pigs