The
immunoglobulin (Ig) G concentration in swine colostrum was determined by the single radial immunodiffusion method, using 157 samples collected from farm-raised sows in the Yamaguchi Prefecture of Japan during 1976 and 1977. The mean
IgG value was 53.03 mg/ml, and the maximum and minimum values were 101.39 mg/ml and 11.74 mg/ml, respectively. The amount of
IgG varied greatly among sows. To clarify the possible factors influencing the amount of
IgG in colostrum, the following items were surveyed: season, district, breed, age of sows, number of parturitions, udder section from which samples were collected, kind of feed, vaccinations of
swine erysipelas live-organism
vaccine,
hog cholera live-virus
vaccine, Japanese encephalitis live-virus
vaccine, tramsmissible
gastroenteritis liver-virus
vaccine, type of farming, and number of sows raised on a farm. Relationships between the amount of
IgG in colostrum and each of these 13 items were analyzed. Seemingly, strong correlations with the amounts if
IgG in colostrum were found with five items (district, number of parturitions, kind of feed, type of farming, and number of sows). To the contrary, five items (age, udder section, and vaccinations of
swine erysipelas live-organism
vaccine,
hog cholera live-virus
vaccine, and
Japanese encephalitis live-virus
vaccine) had poor correlations. Other items had moderate correlations. The multiple correlation coefficient obtained was 0.5499.