Diagnosis
The organism must be isolated from the meninges of clinically affected pigs and identified in a laboratory.
Treatment
If your herd has a problem always examine the at risk pigs twice daily to identify and treat affected pigs early.
Streptococcus suis is usually sensitive to penicillin, synthetic penicillin's or sulphonamides.
Injections of penicillin should be given twice daily.
Good nursing is equally important because the condition is very painful. Remove the piglet during the first 3 to 6 hours from the litter to a warm environment and carefully supplement it with milk via a stomach tube.
Similar diseases
Consider joint infections, glässers disease, generalised septicaemia, salt poisoning, aujeszky's disease and hypoglycaemia.
Management control and prevention
It is possible to vaccinate the sow using an autogenous vaccine to improve the colostral immunity.
The sow can be injected with long-acting penicillin just before farrowing.
The litter can be injected with long-acting penicillin in anticipation of disease.