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Archive Case #161: Swine Actinobacillus Pleuropneumonia

Pig veterinary case - Hard - August 11, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. Finisher pigs develop sudden fever, severe respiratory distress, and some die within hours.
  2. The owner reports blood-tinged froth at the mouth in a few of the worst affected pigs.
  3. The group is reluctant to move and breathes with marked abdominal effort.
  4. Necropsy of a dead pig reveals fibrinous pleuritis and dark consolidated lung lobes.
  5. The outbreak is explosive and centred on acute necrohaemorrhagic pneumonia.
  6. Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia is a major cause of peracute respiratory disease in pigs.

Diagnosis

Swine Actinobacillus Pleuropneumonia

This case is most consistent with Swine Actinobacillus Pleuropneumonia because the pigs have peracute hemorrhagic respiratory disease with fibrinous pleuritis. The most important clues are the sudden deaths and necrohaemorrhagic lung lesions, which make a mild viral respiratory outbreak less likely.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

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

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: Finisher pigs develop sudden fever, severe respiratory distress, and some die within hours.
  2. Clue 2: The owner reports blood-tinged froth at the mouth in a few of the worst affected pigs.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: The group is reluctant to move and breathes with marked abdominal effort.
  2. Clue 4: Necropsy of a dead pig reveals fibrinous pleuritis and dark consolidated lung lobes.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: The outbreak is explosive and centred on acute necrohaemorrhagic pneumonia.
  2. Clue 6: Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia is a major cause of peracute respiratory disease in 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 Actinobacillus Pleuropneumonia?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Swine Actinobacillus Pleuropneumonia?

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.