LAUSR

Post-weaning Escherichia coli diarrhea (PWD) remains a major cause of economic losses for the pig industry. PWD, caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), typically provokes mild to severe watery diarrhea between 5–10 days after weaning, which may result in mortality. Most common adhesins in ETEC are F4 and F18 fimbriae. Therapy to combat PWD typically consists of antibiotic treatment in combination with ZnO (3,000 ppm). Recently, an oral live bivalent E. coli F4/F18 vaccine (Coliprotec® F4/F18; Elanco) was approved on the European market, which reduces the impact of PWD provoked by F4-ETEC and F18-ETEC. The objective was to evaluate mortality and antibiotic use following E. coli F4/F18 vaccination under field conditions. A 160-sow farm (weaning at 26 days) with diagnosed problems of PWD due to F4-ETEC was selected. Piglets were vaccinated at 21 days with the oral live bivalent E. coli F4/F18 vaccine. At weaning, no standard group medication (ZnO and antibiotics) was applied for prevention of PWD. Several performance parameters were collected: treatment incidence (TI100), mortality and days in nursery. Vaccination (n = 3 groups) was compared to a historical control (n = 3 groups) Oral E. coli F4/F18 vaccination significantly reduced TI100 (18.6 ± 6.3 days to 2.4 ± 1.9 days; P < 0.05) due to the reduction in days of antimicrobial group treatment. Mortality rate significantly reduced (11.2 ± 2.6% in control to 4.5 ± 1.5% in vaccinated group; P < 0.05) following vaccination. Days in nursery (48.5 ± 0.3 days) remained constant throughout the trial. The results show that live E. coli F4/F18 vaccination against PWD has significantly impacted mortality, in combination with a reduction in medication use. In conclusion, control of PWD through oral vaccination is a successful option in order to prevent piglets from the negative clinical outcomes of F18-ETEC infection during the post-weaning period.