Question

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and other one labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A) : The iron deficiency anemia is very common in nursing piglets.
Reason (R) : The rapidly growing piglets require high amount of iron and sow milk is deficient in iron.
In light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
• B. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
• C. (A) is true but (R) is false.
• D. (A) is false but (R) is true.

Hint:

To prevent piglet anemia in commercial swine farming:
Administer an intramuscular injection of 150-200 mg of iron dextran to all piglets within the first 3 days of life.
This is a standard herd management practice worldwide.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Iron deficiency anemia (commonly known as "piglet anemia" or "thumps") is a major nutritional disorder in newborn piglets.
Understanding the physiological and dietary factors that lead to this condition is essential for proper swine herd health management.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us evaluate the Assertion and the Reason.
Assertion (A) is correct. Iron deficiency anemia is highly common in newborn, nursing piglets, particularly those reared in modern, intensive indoor systems on concrete floors.
Piglets are born with very low internal iron reserves (about 50 mg), which is only enough to support hemoglobin synthesis for the first few days of life.
Reason (R) is also correct. Piglets have an extremely rapid growth rate, doubling their birth weight within the first week of life.
To support this rapid tissue expansion and blood volume increase, a piglet requires about 7 to 10 mg of iron daily.
However, sow's milk contains very low levels of iron, providing only about 1 mg of iron per day.
In natural outdoor environments, piglets obtain additional iron by rooting in the soil.
In confinement housing, they have no access to soil, and the combination of rapid growth and low iron intake from milk quickly leads to microcytic, hypochromic anemia by 7 to 10 days of age.
Therefore, the rapid growth and the low iron content of sow's milk (Reason) directly explain why iron deficiency anemia is so common in nursing piglets (Assertion).
Thus, both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct option is (A).