A Survey of Gastrointestinal Pig Parasites on Free-range, Organic and Conventional Pig Farms in The Netherlands

Abstract

The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in suckling piglets, weaners, fattening pigs and sows was studied from November 2001 to October 2002 on 16 free-range farms (FRF), 11 organic farms (OF) and 9 conventional farms (CF) by means of faecal examinations of composite samples. Each farm was visited four times with a 3-month interval. Infections with coccidia were found on 43.8% of the FRF, 90.9% of the OF and 66.7% of the CF. Sows had the highest prevalence, particularly on FRF (87.5%) and OF (80%).Ascaris suum was present on 50% of the FRF, 72.7% of the OF and 11.1% of the CF, whereas fattening pigs on FRF (42.9%) and OF (54.5%) had the highest prevalence.Oesophagostomum spp. were observed on 25% of the FRF, 27.2% of the OF and 22.2% of the CF. The infection was most prevalent in the sows on all farm types: 37.5% on FRF, 30% on OF and 22.2% on CF.Trichuris suis was found on 37.5% of the FRF, 36.4% of the OF and 11.1% of the CF. Again, this infection was most prevalent in the sows, particularly on the FRF (50%) and OF (30%). No other gastrointestinal parasite species were found and no clinical signs were observed. No seasonal trends could be distinguished. In many cases, when an age group on a farm was positive for a certain parasite, it remained so during the whole study. This indicates that this parasite was really ‘endemic’ on that farm.

The results of this study demonstrate that the prevalence of helminth infections of pigs on farms with outdoor facilities is higher than in pigs on conventional farms.