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Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #43: Swine Dysentery

Pig veterinary case - Easy - April 15, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. A group of grower pigs develops diarrhoea and poor thrift over several days.
  2. The faeces become mucoid and then visibly blood-streaked in the worst affected animals.
  3. Most pigs remain standing but appear tucked up and unthrifty.
  4. The disease seems concentrated in recently mixed pens.
  5. Large bowel disease is suspected and testing supports Brachyspira infection.
  6. This contagious colitis of grower pigs commonly causes mucohaemorrhagic diarrhoea and reduced growth.

Diagnosis

Swine Dysentery

This case is most consistent with Swine Dysentery because the growers have mucohaemorrhagic diarrhoea with a herd pattern consistent with contagious colitis. The most important clues are the age group, bloody mucoid faeces, and large bowel involvement, which strongly support dysentery over simple dietary scours.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

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

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: A group of grower pigs develops diarrhoea and poor thrift over several days.
  2. Clue 2: The faeces become mucoid and then visibly blood-streaked in the worst affected animals.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: Most pigs remain standing but appear tucked up and unthrifty.
  2. Clue 4: The disease seems concentrated in recently mixed pens.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: Large bowel disease is suspected and testing supports Brachyspira infection.
  2. Clue 6: This contagious colitis of grower pigs commonly causes mucohaemorrhagic diarrhoea and reduced growth.

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 Dysentery?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Swine Dysentery?

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.