[Eperythrozoonosis in swine--an overlooked disease?].

Abstract

In the present work a review is given on the aetiology, clinical symptoms, prevalence and significance of the disease eperythrozoonosis in swine. Clinical outbreaks are characterized by fever, anemia and icterus. Clinical signs are most likely to be observed in young suckling piglets and in sows at the time of farrowing. In most cases infection with Eperythrozoon suis leads to a carrier state of symptomless, subclinical infection which, however, may be activated under conditions of stress. Eperythrozoonosis in swine has been reported from the USA, England, Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium and a few other countries. Due to the latent nature and the non-specific clinical symptoms of the disease it seems likely that the prevalence of E. suis in swine populations may be considerably greater than the number of clinical cases might lead one to suppose. So far, E. suis has not been diagnosed in Scandinavia, but it should not be excluded that eperythrozoonosis may exist as a neglected disease in Nordic swine herds as well.