Danish veterinarians have registered that a growing number of Danish pigs suffer from gastric ulcers, reports DR.
More cases of sickly pigs than before have been reported over the past six months and the vets are concerned.
“We haven’t recorded a surge in the number of pigs affected by virus infections, which might indicate that something new is causing this,” Claus Heisel, the head of the Agricultural Veterinary Consulting Service, told DR.
SEGES Pig Research Centre, which is part of the Danish Agriculture and Food Agency, has initiated several investigations to learn more about the problem.
In pain
The situation has negative financial consequences for Danish pig farmers because pigs with stomach ulcers grow less and need to get more food due to frequent vomiting.
Meanwhile, the pigs are most probably suffering from severe pain, just like people with stomach ulcers do.
Unfortunately, they cannot be treated with painkillers because that could cause internal bleeding.
