Neonatal diarrhoea in piglets — occurring in the first days to weeks of life — is a leading cause of piglet mortality and suffering in commercial pig production. Understanding the causes and implementing prevention and treatment protocols is essential for neonatal piglet welfare.
Neonatal piglet diarrhoea has multiple potential causes: Escherichia coli (most common — enterotoxigenic strains producing heat-labile and heat-stable enterotoxins, causing secretory diarrhoea and dehydration), Clostridium perfringens type C (haemorrhagic enteritis in very young piglets — severe, often fatal), Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus (TGEV) and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea Virus (PEDV) (viral diarrhoea causing high mortality in naive herds), and Rotavirus (common, variable severity). Mixed infections are common.
Diarrhoea causes suffering through: dehydration and electrolyte imbalance (causing weakness, sunken eyes, loss of skin elasticity, and ultimately cardiovascular collapse), hypothermia (dehydrated piglets lose body heat rapidly — particularly dangerous given their small size and limited fat reserves), abdominal discomfort and pain from intestinal inflammation, and the distress of weakness and inability to suckle. Affected piglets that recover may have permanent growth retardation from intestinal damage. Death from neonatal diarrhoea is preceded by hours of suffering — prevention and early treatment are welfare imperatives.
Pre-farrowing sow vaccination against E. coli and Clostridium provides passive immunity to piglets through colostrum and milk. Commercial vaccines targeting relevant E. coli strains provide effective protection in many herds. Clostridium vaccination is recommended in herds with a history of clostridial enteritis. Farm-specific vaccines (autogenous vaccines prepared from herd-specific E. coli isolates) may be indicated where commercial vaccine protection is incomplete.
Environmental hygiene is critical for prevention. All-in/all-out farrowing management (thorough cleaning and disinfection between farrowing batches) reduces pathogen load in the farrowing environment. Maintaining dry, warm farrowing pens reduces environmental E. coli challenge. Ensuring adequate colostrum intake in all piglets provides passive immunological protection for the first weeks of life. Managing sow nutrition (adequate milk production) supports piglet immunity through continued colostrum and milk.
Treatment of affected piglets requires: oral rehydration therapy (electrolyte solutions — glucose plus sodium and potassium) to correct dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, warmth (ensuring environmental temperature appropriate for neonatal piglets — minimum 28-30°C in creep area), nursing care (assisting weak piglets to suckle), antimicrobial therapy (where bacterial causes are confirmed — injectable or oral antimicrobials), and in some systems, supportive injection of vitamins and minerals. Oral rehydration therapy is the most important immediate welfare intervention for dehydrated piglets.
Systematic recording of neonatal mortality with cause attribution enables pattern recognition. A cluster of diarrhoea deaths suggests systemic management or vaccination failure requiring investigation. Veterinary post-mortem of fresh carcasses (within hours of death) with bacteriology and histopathology establishes definitive diagnoses that guide prevention programme adjustment. Trends in neonatal mortality are important welfare indicators that should be part of regular farm health planning reviews.