Wasting pig syndrome (WPS) in weaners--treatment with amperozide

Social and environmental stressors during the critical period of weaning frequently affect not only performance but also the health status of piglets. Pigs unable to cope with the changes associated with weaning develop a condition characterized by slowing of growth and a listless or unthrifty appearance, known as the wasting pig syndrome (WPS). In the present investigation a total of 100 4-week-old wasting pigs were studied. The pigs were divided randomly into 10 pens (10 animals per pen). Half the number of pigs were treated orally with amperozide (2.5 mg/kg body-weight), a psychotropic drug shown to modify emotional behaviour in response to social stress. Control groups were treated with long-acting oxytetracycline and vitamins (A + D3 + E). There were significant improvements in average daily weight gain (P less than 0.05) and feed conversion ratio (P less than 0.01) in amperozide-treated pigs compared with controls. Furthermore, there was a significant reduction (P less than 0.05) in mortality in amperozide treated groups. Within 2 weeks following amperozide treatment the clinical signs of the WPS had disappeared and the pigs grew at the same rate as normal healthy pigs.