[Feed supplementation with selenium in relation to the vitamin E-selenium deficiency syndrome in pigs (author's...

After the addition of selenium to swine feed (max. 0.1 ppm) was legalized in Denmark in 1975, a marked reduction has occurred in the incidence of hepatosis dietetica (HD) in the material received at the State Veterinary Serum Laboratory for diagnostic examination, while the incidence of mulberry heart disease (MHD) appears to be unchanged (Table I). In a material collected before the addition of selenium to swine feed was permitted, the selenium content in liver and heart was found to be significantly lower in the pigs that had died of MHD than in normal pigs, but higher than in pigs that had died of HD (Table II). These observations tend to support the view that feed supplementation with selenium is more effective to prevent HD than MHD.