[Swine Inflammation and Necrosis Syndrome (SINS) - a review]

Inflammation and partial loss of the tail occur with high frequency in pigs and must be combated if animal welfare is to be improved. In this context, consideration of tail biting as sole explanation fails to go far enough. Inflammation and necrosis of the tail occur regularly even without the intervention of other pigs. The evidence of such alterations already at the time of birth, the clustered synchronous occurrence on different parts of the body such as the tail, ears, teats, claws, amongst others as well as the pathohistological evidence of blood vessel-associated changes advocate a primarily endogenous cause bearing a syndromic character even if the symptomatology interacts with environmental factors. Alterations may be observed in suckling and weaning piglets as well as in fatteners. Environmental improvement may lead to a significantly reduced symptomatology. At the same time, genetic effects of boar and sow have been demonstrated. This review article highlights all facets of the syndrome known to date and provides an insight into the key points of the pathogenesis. The awareness of a new clinical syndrome that must be distinguished from tail biting will afford a contribution to combating this entity and thus increasing animal welfare in swine.