Teagasc Researcher Maria Costa joins Amy Quinn on this episode of the Pig Edge to discuss the completed PATHSURVPIG project. 

This project may be familiar to many as over 60 commercial Irish farms were involved in the project which investigated the extent of respiratory disease on Irish pig farms, associated risk factors, and the relationship with performance, welfare and antimicrobial use. 

Firstly, Maria explains what was involved in this project and also discusses the true effect of respiratory diseases on farms. 

Maria was largely involved in the cross sectional component of this study in which biosecurity, vaccination, antimicrobial use and feeding practices from about 60 commercial farms was examined and subsequently slaughterhouse examinations looking and lung, heart and liver lesions were collected from a large number of pigs from each of those farms. 

Maria takes us through the main findings from this part of the study and takes us through the results which modelled the implications of respiratory disease on production performance.

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The Pig Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.