Episode Details

In this episode of The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Matheus Costa from the University of Saskatchewan explains the science behind ear necrosis in pigs. He breaks down how stress, behavior, and a specific infectious agent interact to drive disease development. The discussion highlights breakthrough research that finally reproduces ear necrosis under controlled conditions. Learn what this means for prevention, intervention strategies, and future immunization protocols. Listen now on all major platforms.

"We started seeing a lot of producers complaining about growth rates whenever a batch got affected by ear necrosis."

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: Dr. Matheus Costa is an Associate Professor of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan and an Adjunct Professor at Utrecht University. His research focuses on preventing infectious diseases in pigs, improving animal welfare, and advancing swine production systems. Dr. Costa studies disease mechanisms, behavior, and intervention strategies to reduce antimicrobial use.

Liked this one? Don’t stop now — Here’s what we think you’ll love!

What you will learn:

• (00:00) Highlight
• (01:03) Introduction
• (01:33) Guest background
• (02:39) Multifactorial disease
• (05:53) Performance impact
• (07:15) Infectious trigger
• (11:30) Behavior role
• (16:00) Closing thoughts

The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:

* Boehringer Ingelheim

- Elanco

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

Website: The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast

Instagram: Swine Campus

LinkedIn: Swine Campus