Sow Agalactia

Agalactia occurs worldwide affecting sows and gilt. It is the failure of the sow to produce milk, however the sow is not ill.Its effects are no milk after farrowing, neonatal deaths.

Causes of Agalactia
Agalactia is the Failure of the sow to produce milk. Failure may be on the maternal side (production or let down) or on the side of the piglet (failure to suck). Agalactia can follow the blockage of teats for congenital reasons and may be associated with blind teats, inverted nipples, teats or absence of the total absence of mammary tissue. Scarring and non-function of the teats teats necrosis may follow when a piglet damages the teats or it may be damaged as an adult. Transient agalactia may occur after farrowing, particularly if pigs are born prematurely. Agalactia may result from water deprivation, particularly if drinkers do not deliver at a sufficient rate, are blocked, if water is unpalatable or in hot weather. Milk products may be suboptimal in thin or underfed sows. Infection is a major cause of agalactia and may occur in one or more mammary glands without causing obvious illness in the sow. Infection of the uterus (metritis) is also a common cause of agalactia. Milk let-down may not occur when the young gilt is frightened by her litter or when she is disturbed for other reasons. Agalactia develops rapidly if piglets are unable to suck and unsucked individual glands dry up rapidly.

Effects of Agalactia
The most consistent sign of oblivious and agalactia in pigs is the effect on the litter. Sucking piglets require milk on an hourly basis, and if it is not available, the piglets are restless, continue to nurse, and may grunt and squeak in dissatisfaction instead of leaving the sow and lying down in the creep area. If agalactia continues, the piglets start to lose condition and their hair coat may become erect. Weaker individuals develop hypoglycaemia, convulsions, go into a coma and die. Behavior of the litter draws attention to the sow. Sows with agalactia may be normal or inappetent, reluctant to rise and may have fever or abnormal vulval discharge. The udder may be swollen where mastitis, milk let down or failure to suck are the cause of agalactia and after farrowing in blocked glands with teats. Backpressure acts soon to reduce secretion and the swelling subsides soon. The

udder is not swollen where there is immaturity of the gland, some kind of teat abnormality, water deprivation or long term reduction in sucking. Abnormalities of the teats may be visible. Expressed milk may be abnormal in appearance or present in small amounts.

Diagnosis of Agalactia
Inappetence and depression in recently farrowed sows may draw attention to the presence of agalactia, but the most immediate indicator is the behaviour and state of the litter. Examination of the litter will confirm the presence of disease which would prevent sucking. Closer examination of the sow and the presence of an overstocked udder suggests the presence of mastitis or agalactia due to inadequate milk let down. Inspection of the teats should reveal physical factors such as necrosis and blind teats teats. Milk quantity and quality can only be studied following oxytocin injection as milk let down is under voluntary control. The presence of mastitis can be confirmed by laboratory means such as cell counts and bacteriology, but the quantity available is more difficult to estimate. Observation and a subjective assessment may be the only way to determining whether gilt behaviour is preventing let down or piglet approach. Failure of milk production can be determined by udder examination. The most important cause of this is poor water supply and the capacity of the drinkers to deliver adequate water should be checked. Sow condition is obvious from clinical examination, but the development of agalactia associated with premature farrowing require consultation of the records.

Treatment & Control of Agalactia

Treatment of agalactia centres on making milk available to the piglet as soon as possible. Where mastitis or milk let down is a problem, injection of oxytocin to release retained milk is the first step. If this treatment does not provide adequate milk for the piglets, or if let down is not the primary problem, water drinkers should be provided in piglet and sow freshly prepared milk substitute should be provided. Young piglets should receive colostrum for their first feed and may need to be fed by stomach tube. Where is responsible for mastitis or metritis agalactia, an antimicrobial may be given by injection along with the oxytocin. Water must be

made freely available. Adequate nutritional feeding will correct under production of affected sows. Where correction of agalactia is not possible, piglets should be fostered or reared artificially. Agalactia may be prevented by careful examination of the udder of sows prior to service for userserviceable teats, clean housing with adequate drainage to reduce infection, reducing udder damage using soft floorings or by clipping piglets' teeth, proper feeding in pregnancy and lactation, the provision whether adequate water supplies, prompt treatment of mastitis and other diseases and encouragement of milk let down by tranquilising frightened screams.

MMA (Mastitis, Metritis, Agalactia)

MMA (mastitis, metritis, agalactia) occurs worldwide in gilts and sows after farrowing. The effects of MMA are that within 48 hrs of farrowing - inappetence, hungry piglets, fever, hard udder.

Causes of MMA (Mastitis, Metritis, Agalactia)

Generally caused by bacterial invasion of the udder and subsequent production of endotoxins (the cell wall lipopolysaccharide produced by bacteria like E. coli). Endotoxin cannot, however, always be demonstrated in the plasma of affected animals, neither can bacteria or mastitis always be identified in the mammary glands. Bacteria in the gut or in endometritis may be the source of endotoxin in these cases. Hormonal causes have also been suggested. Levels of a number of hormones may be depressed following parturition. These represent the effector mechanism, but the initiating factors have not been identified. Hormones involved in lactation include insulin, cortisone and prolactin, oxytocin, oestrogen and progesterone and changes in their levels have been demonstrated in pigs with agalactia. Levels of oxytocin are often half those in normal sows. Prolactin levels may be dramatically reduced by small volumes of endotoxin and the inhibition of prostaglandin F2 alpha production in the uterus (possible by infection) may reduce prolactin secretion. Management and nutrition appear to be important in the aetiology and low exercise, high nutrition density rations, overfeeding and poor hygiene all appear to predispose to the condition. The importance of water intake and stress or disturbance during parturition is not yet clear.

Effects of MMA (Mastitis, Metritis, Agalactia)

The syndrome usually occurs within 12 hours - three days of parturition. Inappetence is commonly the first sign to be noted followed by depression, restlessness when being suckled and loss of condition in the litter. Affected sows may have a slight fever, 39.5-41C, if mastitis is present. In many cases, only a single gland is mastitic. Vulval discharge and constipation are frequently associated with this condition but neither may be present. The disease lasts for a minimum of 3 days and then resolves spontaneously. By this time the litter may have been lost. The condition may be preceded by delays in parturition (>5 hours) and may vary in its intensity. In mild cases of hypogalactia unaccompanied by mastitis or other elements of the complex, depressed daily live weight gain in piglets (<105 g/day, normal 125g/day) may be the only indication of the problem.

Diagnosis of MMA (Mastitis, Metritis, Agalactia)

Diagnosis is based on clinical signs, particularly inappetence in the sow and a reduction of condition in the litter. The udder should be palpated (felt) on both sides by running the hand under both lines of glands. Individual affected glands feel firm and hot. The presence of bacterial mastitis may be confirmed by the examination of milk samples. Collection requires oxytocin injection as milk let down is under voluntary control. The litter should be examined as diarrhoea septicaemia or hypothermia may lead to decreased intake of milk and overstocking of the udder. Fever may indicate the presence of another disease (e.g. erysipelas). A history of difficulty in farrowing, small litters or incomplete cleansing, may indicate retention of a foetus or placentae. Examination per vagina, if within 24 hours of parturition, will establish this. In some cases mycotoxins such as trichoethecenes may be involved Pathological investigation is of little value. Neither mastitis nor metritis is a constant finding. Where mastitis occurs, it appears to be patchy within a gland. Oedema of the subcutaneous tissue and inflammatory changes in the draining lymph nodes occur where mastitis is present. The microscopic structure of glands of affected pigs often resemble those of sows at 110 days' gestation.

Treatment & Control of MMA (Mastitis, Metritis, Agalactia)

Affected sows can be given frequent small doses of oxytocin, but this is not necessary if they are being suckled regularly. Antimicrobial infections are advisable when mastitis, metritis or fever are present. Ampicillin, tetracyclines, trimethoprim sulphonamide or enrofloxacin may be given. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as flunixin meglumine or corticosteroid may improve recovery. Piglets should receive sow colostrum by stomach tube or by sucking another sow, be left with their mother and fed artificially until the sow recovers. The use of oxytocin in early cases may reduce the need for veterinary involvement. Treatment should begin when sow body temperature is 39.4C 12-18 hours post farrowing. Feed medication with trimethoprim: sulphonamide at 15 mg/kg body weight or tetracyclines from day 112 of gestation to day 1 post partum, reduces the incidence of the disease markedly. Long acting tetracycline injections given 1 day before farrowing may be beneficial. Decreases in agalactia may occur in sows which farrow early as a result of prostaglandin use. Hygiene, and exercise of the sows prior to farrowing and during the early stage of lactation may reduce MMA. Reduction of feed intake to 1 kg/day from 100 days, gestation and use of vegetable protein reduced the incidence of hypogalactia. Adequate water should be available to sows at all times.