Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) swine pleuropneumonia is a widespread, common and highly contagious lung disease. APP pleuropneumonia has serious consequences for the animal. Causing dyspnea, cough, anorexia, fever and vomiting, it causes great suffering to the affected swine and leads to a high mortality rate if not treated. The economic consequences of this mortality, which usually occurs at the end of the fattening period, are considerable for the farmer. In addition, there are the consequences of slower growth and higher treatment costs.

Treatment is not enough
The APP bacterium can remain dormant in the respiratory tract of infected animals for many months, contributing to regular outbreaks of the disease. Therefore, curative treatments are not enough: vaccination combined with good husbandry practices (limiting mixing of animals, forward movement, internal biosecurity, control of environmental conditions, etc.) are essential for optimal prevention. Vaccination helps to limit the spread of the disease within the farm and to minimize the need for curative treatments and the associated risk of antibiotic resistance. Since January 2024, we have been supplying veterinarians and swine farmers in France and Germany with a new vaccine containing inactivated whole-cell antigens of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae s. 2, s. 9 and s. 11 and toxoids APX I, APX II, APX III.

Another step toward our goal: strengthening prevention in swine farming 
Ensuring that the world's growing population has access to quality food, while maintaining animal health and welfare, means adapting farming techniques to focus on prevention. That's why, at Virbac, we have been working for several years to strengthen our global vaccine portfolio and investing relentlessly to do so. This second swine vaccine in France and Germany is another step towards our goal in Europe. Every day, our teams are working to bring new vaccine solutions to swine industry professionals around the world, helping them to adopt good breeding and prevention practices.