Modelling the burden of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection for enhanced decision support on fattening farms

This study presents a stochastic, individual-based model developed with EMULSION software to simulate Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection dynamics in growing pigs on a Dutch fattening farm. The model evaluates three key burdens: clinical signs and lung lesions, antimicrobial usage, and financial performance. It incorporates multiple transmission levels (within-pen, between-pen, indirect) and calculates economic impacts such as feed and treatment costs, penalties for slaughter weight deviations, and carcass revenues. Parameters were sourced from literature, surveys, and expert elicitation, with sensitivity analysis applied. Model outputs illustrate infection progression, antibiotic treatment patterns, and economic losses under different scenarios. This tool supports decision-making for preventive and control strategies and can be extended to assess co-infections with other respiratory pathogens.

This work was presented as a poster at the European Symposium of Porcine Health Management (ESPHM) 2025, held in Bern, Switzerland (Reference: BBD-PP-46).