Estimation of the cost of pneumonia in swine herds

The data from studies of pneumonia, in which growth rate and feed conversion were measured, were examined with respect to the expected change in feed efficiency associated with a specific reduction in growth rate attributable to pneumonia in a swine herd. Information from 5 other studies was used to determine the expected reduction in growth rate that would be associated with the severity of pneumonia in the herd as determined by lesions recorded at slaughter. Together these calculations provide a reasonable estimation of the economic loss associated with pneumonia in a swine herd.