Infectious Progressive Atrophic Rhinitis

Scoring of nasal sections

Other names	Atrophic Rhinitis AR PAR
Causal agent	Toxigenic forms of Bordetella bronchiseptica combined with toxigenic Pasteurella multocida mainly types D and A. Both of these agents are bacteria
Age group	The deviation may be seen in any pig older than 10 kg. However, clinical signs usually seen in pigs up to 5 months of age
Definition	Atrophic rhinitis covers any disorder that results in shrinkage of the nasal turbinates which may be accompanied by deviation of the face. Many factors may result in atrophic rhinitis:- dust, ammonia, disease agents and genetics. Infectious Progressive Atrophic Rhinitis is the major category of atrophic rhinitis that requires to be controlled on pig units
Clinical signs
	Note virtually all herds are infected with Bordetella bronchiseptica and therefore occasional moderate turbinate atrophy is normal
	Sneezing and snuffling in farrowing area and then throughout the growing phase
	Nose bleeding (epistasis) usually unilateral
	Snout deformation
	Growth retardation, which may be up to 7% loss of daily gain, but this is very variable
	Turbinate atrophy possibly with septum deviation
	Tear staining causing brown streaks on the face originating from the medial canthus of the eye. In modern breeds this is quite common without atrophic rhinitis
	Non immune piglets infected in the first week of life show most severe signs
	Pigs infected after 4 weeks show less severe lesions
	Pigs infected after 9 weeks of age show virtually no lesions
Twisted face and blood at nostrils		Twisted snouts in a group of pigs	Skull of a pig with atrophic rhinitis	Acquired atrophic rhinitis
Infectivity
	Pig to pig
	Droplet infection
	P. multocida can survive for 8 days in water, 6 days in liquid manure and 49 days in nasal washings
	Piglets are infected from their mother's mouth and possibly from the vagina during birth
	The disease may be transmitted by air between 200 and 1000 m
	Litters in the farrowing area are rapidly infected from a shedding mother and also at weaning
Stress factors
	Re-occurrence, failure of vaccination or even first clinical signs on previously normal herds may occur when the unit is severely stressed by viruses such as PRRSv, PMWS or Swine Influenza Virus

Post-mortem Lesions
	Distortion of the face
	Atrophy of the nasal turbinates
	The atrophy can be scored particularly by sawing the nasal cavities at the level between the 1st and 2nd pre-molar teeth. Note a straight cut is required. This is indicated by the lateral canthus of the mouth (commissure)
Normal turbinates		Atrophic score 3	Atrophic score 4	Score 5 + Deviation
Diagnosis
	All herds with clinical infectious progressive atrophic rhinitis as a problem are infected with toxigenic Pasteurella multocida, however, not all herds with toxigenic P. multocida have clinically significant atrophic rhinitis. 20% of normal 'non clinical' herds may actually be infected
Slaughterhouse check	By sectioning the nose. However, the tests only look for 'atrophic rhinitis' not the infectious progressive atrophic rhinitis Scoring of pig snouts
Toxin check	Detection of the toxigenic Pasteurella multocida by examination of samples obtained by nasal and/or throat swabs – test pigs at 4, 8 and 12 weeks of age.
Treatment
Affected individuals	Feed wet food
	Antibiotics will not reduce deviation but will help support the pigs if co-infectioned with other secondary pathogens exist
Control
Acute outbreaks	Consult with your veterinarian for precise details, the following is a guide
	Vaccinate sows and gilts with a vaccine containing the toxin and B. bronchiseptica and P. multocida
	Administer in-feed antibiotics to sows for the last month of pregnancy
	Administer tetracycline LA or Tulathromycin to piglets at 3 and 10 days of age
	Medicate weaner feed with tetracycline 800 g per tonne
	It is possible to vaccinate piglets within the first week of life
Essential other requirements	Improve general management, All-in/all-out programmes. Allow the sow herd age to rise Review breeding animal purchases. Reduce stocking rates. Reduce gas and dust concentrations. Move wet feeding finishing herd
Controlled	Vaccinate all sows and gilts as appropriate
Elimination	Depopulation and restock from a known free herd only possible option. Clean, disinfect and fumigate all buildings and leave for 8 weeks. Note eliminate mice and rats. The disease may rarely be transmissible over 1000 m. Elimination protocols
	It is possible to save genetic material by SEW programmes to set up a new unit followed by depopulation and restocking of old unit
Common differentials
	Sneezing in farrowing area may be due to a range of other organism in particular uncomplicated B. bronchiseptica and porcine Cytomegalovirus.
	Facial deformity can occur through other defects such a genetics, dust, ammonia and behaviour (playing with drinkers or bars for example)
Zoonotic Implications
	Note it is possible that humans may become infected with toxigenic P. multocida and this may result in a variety of upper respiratory diseases, tonsillitis and rhinitis