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Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #110: Swine Glassers Disease

Pig veterinary case - Hard - June 21, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. A group of recently stressed young pigs becomes febrile and reluctant to move.
  2. Several are depressed, sore, and breathing faster than expected.
  3. Joints are swollen and painful in more than one pig.
  4. Postmortem findings in a herd mate show fibrin on serosal surfaces, including the chest and heart.
  5. The pattern is a polyserositis syndrome after weaning and mixing.
  6. Glassers disease caused by Glaesserella parasuis produces fever, arthritis, pleuritis, and pericarditis in young pigs.

Diagnosis

Swine Glassers Disease

This case is most consistent with Swine Glassers Disease because the pigs have polyserositis, lameness, and systemic illness after weaning stress. The most important clues are the swollen joints and fibrinous serosal inflammation, which distinguish it from a simple enteric outbreak.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

Use the paired clues to explain how the evidence in this pig case supports the provided diagnosis, Swine Glassers Disease, then compare your reasoning with the case explanation.

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: A group of recently stressed young pigs becomes febrile and reluctant to move.
  2. Clue 2: Several are depressed, sore, and breathing faster than expected.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: Joints are swollen and painful in more than one pig.
  2. Clue 4: Postmortem findings in a herd mate show fibrin on serosal surfaces, including the chest and heart.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: The pattern is a polyserositis syndrome after weaning and mixing.
  2. Clue 6: Glassers disease caused by Glaesserella parasuis produces fever, arthritis, pleuritis, and pericarditis in young pigs.

Self-review prompts

  1. After clues 1-2, what evidence from this pig case shaped your initial interpretation?
  2. When you compare clues 3-4 with clues 1-2, what changed in your reasoning about Swine Glassers Disease?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Swine Glassers Disease?

Educational Use

Vetdle archive cases are educational veterinary games for diagnostic reasoning practice. They do not provide veterinary advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional medical guidance.