Science Page: Uterine prolapses trend in production sow herds

This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.

This week, we are sharing a study from Dr. Carmen Alonso and collaborators at Elanco.

Objectives of the study:

Key points:

• Uterine prolapse primarily affects sows around parturition and is still defined by an uncertain list of verified etiologies.
• Since early 2013, swine companies have been experiencing an increase in the incidence of uterine prolapses in their herds.
• Understanding the trends and potential risk factors would be crucial to improve the economics and welfare of the affected sow farms.

Results from this study indicate that the percentage of prolapsed sows has consistently increased every year (significant from 2014-2016) as a percentage of total deaths with the incidence being higher during the winter months and the lowest during the summer months. Total born, the use of toxin binder, assistance during farrowing, and PED health status had an association to sow deaths with prolapse per sows farrowed.

Click here to read the entire report on Uterine prolapses trends.