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Respiratory disease is one of the major causes of losses to the pig industry worldwide. The pig subsector is the largest component of the livestock sector in the Philippines. Using lung scoring, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of thoracic lesions in slaughter-age pigs in two provinces in the Philippines (Batangas and Albay) and define classes for respiratory health of pigs characterised by different patterns of thoracic lesions. A total of 260 pigs from Batangas and 300 pigs from Albay from either commercial or backyard farm types were included in this cross-sectional study. Lungs were scored for cranio-ventral pneumonia (0-55) and pleurisy (0-3). Presence or absence of pericarditis as well as focal dorso-caudal pneumonia were recorded. Latent class analyses considering four indicator variables, and province and farm type as covariates were used to explore different patterns of thoracic lesions across the study populations. Using a threshold of ≥7, the prevalence of a high lung score was 51.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 42.3-61.4%) and 13.7% (95% CI: 8.1-22.2%) in Batangas and Albay, respectively. Similarly, the prevalence of a pleurisy score of ≥1 was 56.9% (95% CI: 37.5-74.4%) and 5.0% (95% CI: 2.9-8.4%), pericarditis 24.6% (95%CI: 10.1-48.6%) and 1.7% (95%CI: 0.3-6.7%) and focal dorso-caudal pneumonia lesions 7.7% (95% CI: 3.7-15.5%) and 0% (97.5% one-sided CI: 0-1.2%), respectively. Latent class analyses identified four classes based on lung score, pleurisy score and the presence/absence of pericarditis: "healthy", "mild respiratory disease", "moderate pneumonia", and "multi-lesion". The relative frequency of these classes differed with province and farm type. Most pigs from Albay were "healthy", whereas in Batangas most pigs from commercial farms were "multi-lesion" and those from backyard farms were in the "mild respiratory disease" class. This study has provided baseline data on thoracic lesions in slaughter-age pigs for the provinces of Batangas and Albay in the Philippines. Targeting farms and areas where "multi-lesion pigs" are most common and further research to identify risk factors for particular classes should maximize impact of future control measures. The latent class analysis approach used could be applied more widely and could add value to analysis of multi-morbidity data collected routinely as part of ongoing monitoring schemes., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pork is the main meat produced and consumed in the Philippines. The majority of pigs are raised by smallholders who experience a range of constraints to their pig production. This study presents the findings of the first part of an overarching project that used an Ecohealth approach and aimed to improve the production and competitiveness of the smallholder pig system in an area of the Philippines. A participatory approach was embraced, combining conventional and participatory epidemiology methods followed by a stakeholder discussion. The first aim was to identify management and health-related constraints to pig production among smallholder famers in San Simon, Pampanga, Philippines. The second aim was for the project team and stakeholders to jointly prioritise activities for the immediate future to address these constraints. Key management and health-related constraints identified included inadequate water supply to pigs, particularly lactating and gestating sows, and a range of feeding-related issues. Diarrhoea was recognised as the disease syndrome of highest priority and limited record keeping meant that farmers were unable to assess the productivity and profitability of their pig farming enterprises. Actions jointly prioritised by stakeholders and the project team were: the appointment of a project coordinator within each barangay; conduct two sets of seminars, the first covering water and nutrition and the second piglet management and diarrhoea, to be delivered by technical experts but with farmer "trusted sources" also sharing their experiences; development of easily understandable leaflets and posters covering key technical information; promotion of nipple drinkers attached to five-gallon water containers and creep boxes for piglets, and conduct of a record keeping workshop with a small group of innovative farmers to develop a useful and usable tool for record keeping. The use of multiple approaches to data-gathering enabled triangulation of study findings. Without any one of these components the understanding of the pig production system would have been less complete and it is possible that the proposed actions would not have been as well-tailored to the needs of the farmers. The participatory approach, in particular the stakeholder discussion, provided the opportunity to embrace the "deciding together" and "acting together" stances of participation rather than the lower "information giving" stance, thereby giving stakeholders greater ownership of the future activities of the overarching project and beyond., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)