Swine Production Medicine Flashcards
7 cards from real ICVA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Swine Production Medicine flashcards as text
What is the most common cause of neonatal piglet diarrhea (scours) in the first 72 hours of life?
Answer: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)
ETEC is the leading cause of neonatal scours in the first 3 days of life, causing watery yellow diarrhea through heat-labile and heat-stable enterotoxins.
In swine, pseudorabies (Aujeszky's disease) virus most severely affects which age group?
Answer: Neonatal and very young piglets under 2 weeks
Neonatal piglets under 2 weeks of age have near 100% mortality from pseudorabies due to neurotropism; older pigs show milder respiratory signs.
Which diagnostic sample is preferred for confirming PRRS virus infection in a live pig?
Answer: Serum for ELISA antibody detection or PCR
Serum is the preferred sample for PRRS diagnosis; ELISA detects antibodies from 7–14 days post-infection, while PCR detects viral RNA during active viremia.
Erysipelas in swine caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae can present in all of the following forms EXCEPT:
Answer: Vesicular stomatitis with oral ulcers
Swine erysipelas presents as acute septicemia, urticarial (diamond skin) lesions, or chronic arthritis/endocarditis; vesicular stomatitis with oral ulcers is not a feature.
What body condition score (BCS) is targeted for sows at the time of farrowing in a 1–5 scale system?
Answer: 3.0–3.5
A BCS of 3.0–3.5 at farrowing optimizes colostrum production, milk yield, and sow longevity while minimizing periparturient problems.
Which virus causes vesicular lesions that are clinically indistinguishable from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in swine and requires laboratory differentiation?
Answer: Swine vesicular disease virus (SVDV)
Swine vesicular disease (SVD), caused by a enterovirus related to human Coxsackievirus B5, produces lesions identical to FMD and must be differentiated by virus isolation or PCR.
What is the recommended environmental temperature range for newborn piglets in the creep area during the first week of life?
Answer: 32–35°C (90–95°F)
Newborn piglets have minimal body fat and poor thermoregulation, requiring a creep temperature of 32–35°C (90–95°F) to prevent hypothermia and crushing by the sow.