Economical Case Study of the SOMO Respiratory Distress Monitor in Pigs

This case study demonstrates the economic value of using an early-warning tool to detect respiratory diseases on a commercial pig fattening farm. The early-warning tool used is the SOMO® respiratory distress monitor developed by SoundTalks NV, which automatically and continuously calculates a respiratory distress index and raises an alarm when respiratory problems occur in a pig building. During the experiments on a pig fattening farm in the Netherlands, SOMO devices were installed in 4 identical compartments, each containing 72 pigs, and recordings were made for the duration of the fattening round. The study was blinded, in that output of SOMO system were analysed retrospectively by the authors, i.e. the farmer was not given access to the warnings during the trial. The management decisions taken by the farmer were done the normal way, and treatment decisions were made in consultation with his veterinarian. During the study 2 compartments of pigs contracted respiratory illness, resulting in antibiotic treatment by the veterinarian. Results showed that the SOMO respiratory distress monitor gave a warning 14 days before the farmer noticed the problem in one compartment and 4 days in the other. The subsequent economic analysis showed that early detection using the SOMO system has the potential to increase the margin of income over feed cost by 10.7€ per pig place per year in the batch affected by respiratory problems. Compensating for the fact that not all batches are affected by respiratory problems, on average for this farm, early detection can increase the margin of income over feed cost by 6.5€ per pig place per year.status: accepte