Swine Articles on Health & Welfare

The discovery and development of antibiotics–one of the major scientific and medical advances of the 20th century– has led to dramatic improvements in treating infectious diseases and has significantly increased food-animal production.

However, widespread and sometimes indiscriminate use of antibiotics has resulted in microorganisms that are resistant to these agents. Moreover, infectious diseases such as E. coli and Salmonella continue to cause significant economic losses in the swine industry.


Swine influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses and has a major economic impact on the swine industry in the United States. Flu outbreaks in pigs are common, especially during winter months. Swine flu can result in high rates of illness in herds.


Food Waste Feeding to Swine is also commonly known as Garbage Feeding or Swill. In Spanish it is known as Escamocha, Lavaza, Descarte, Friegue, Filtradas and Sobras. Some backyard swine owners might not be aware that feeding raw or improperly cooked food wastes to swine poses a risk of introducing devastating foreign animal diseases.