Neurodegeneration in juvenile Iberian pigs with diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

The objective of this study was to investigate whether juvenile Iberian pigs with diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), cholestasis, and gut dysbiosis would develop histological and metabolic markers of neurodegeneration in the frontal cortex (FC) and whether supplementing probiotics would influence the response to the diet. Twenty-eight juvenile Iberian pigs were fed for 10 wk either a control (CON) or high-fructose high-fat (HFF) diet with or without a commercial probiotic mixture. Compared with CON, HFF-fed pigs had a decreased number of neurons and an increase in reactive astrocytes in FC tissue.

Individual training for farmers based on results from protein and ATP rapid tests and microbiological conventional cultural methods improves hygiene in pig fattening pens.

Optimal hygiene management is an essential part of maintaining a high standard of health in conventional pig production systems and for the successful interruption of infection chains. Currently, efficiency assessments on cleaning and disinfection are only performed by visual inspection or are neglected completely. The aim of this study was to evaluate the available methods for on farm monitoring of hygiene, identify critical points in pig pens and use the data obtained for training purposes.