Our solutions for studying pig health

Animal models, expertise, diagnostics and training

Improving, maintaining and protecting the health of pigs is a top priority for farmers, producer organizations, feed producers and pharmaceutical companies. However, despite all efforts, managing disease risk remains a challenge. Royal GD offers a unique combination of expertise, diagnostics and challenge models to help in understanding pig health. Our scientists have decades of experience in studying pathogens like E. coli, PRRSv, Influenza and Streptococcus suis. Our laboratory and animal facilities allow for screening of large numbers of samples as well as in depth studies on the efficacy and safety of feed additives or pharmaceutical products. Find out how we can help you in understanding pig health.

Studies and trials

Our multidisciplinary teams are qualified and experienced in conducting a wide range of studies in accordance with international standards. We can contribute to all phases of development and will manage the entire project from obtaining the necessary permits to the delivery of the final report.

We offer the following types of studies:

Field studies

Royal GD is very well positioned to offer (clinical) field studies. We have an extensive network of farmers and veterinarians in The Netherlands and in-depth knowledge of the disease status of the farms due to the yearly Animal Health Surveillance System that is managed by GD. Moreover, as a member of the GD Group we have easy access to veterinary laboratories in other countries to set up multi-country studies.

Studies on-site

At our state of the art BSL-2 facilities for swine we can run a wide variety of animal trials, including efficacy studies and GLP safety studies. Due to our large in-house laboratory and R&D team, wide range of available diagnostic tests, necropsy rooms and in-house histopathology we are able to run the entire study within GD. Our facilities

Challenge studies

Our team has extensive experience in running challenge studies and thanks to our unparalleled access to farms in The Netherlands we have access to a large collection of field samples to isolate strains from. The following challenge models have been developed and validated:

Brachyspira hyodysenteriae model resulting in clinical signs of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae
E. coli post weaning diarrhea model
Swine Influenza model
Streptococcus suis serotype 9 model: this involves a carrier model and a clinical model

Our experts

Jobke van Hout

Jobke van Hout, DVM, PhD

"I studied Veterinairy Medicine at the University of Utrecht and got my PhD Veterinariy Medicine. My fields of interest are: pharmacology and pharmacotherapy with emphasis on antimicrobial drugs, antimicrobial resistance and infectious bacterial diseases." Read more

Lucía Dieste Pérez, DVM MSc PhD

"It's my aim to apply my knowledge and experience on diagnostics, epidemiology, swine medicine and oral microbiome, to improve pig health and to enable early detection and prevention of pig diseases." Read more

Tijs Tobias, DVM MSc PhD

"Optimal animal welfare and public health guarantees are essential preconditions, but are sometimes also at odds with each other. My passion is to combine data and clinical manifestations for more insight into animal diseases to improve animal health." Read more

More experts on pig health

Scientific posters

We regularly present scientific posters at several congresses throughout the year. Please find some of our studies below.

Get in touch

Please fill in our form to contact Berend Oosterhuis, Fanny Nieuwenhuis, or Eveline Peereboom to arrange a meeting with our research project teams or to inquire about any matters.

Our teams have expertise in poultry, cattle, swine, small ruminants, and equine health.

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