New Findings on Long-Known Pathogens in Pigs

A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 12129

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Unit of Porcine Health Management, Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Interests: M. hyopneumoniae & respiratory disease; sow reproduction and production; Salmonella in pigs; antimicrobial use and resistance; swine herd health and epidemiology; swine reproduction and production; veterinary public; animal housing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The health of farm animals is a prerequisite for animal welfare, farm productivity and also public health. Although major efforts have been made in terms of optimizing management, biosecurity, vaccination and other control and preventive measures, infections with pathogenic organisms remain common and continue to cause major losses to the pig industry worldwide. Endemic as well as epidemic diseases remain a permanent threat for animal health in all different types of pig production systems worldwide. The present Special Issue aims to provide up-to-date knowledge and recent findings on pig pathogens or disease conditions that have long been known. Original research, experimental or observational studies, interesting case reports or review papers related to endemic or epidemic pig diseases will be considered. The focus can be on one or more aspects of the disease such as pathogen characteristics, epidemiology, pathogenesis, immune responses, clinical signs, pathology, diagnostics, treatment, vaccination or control measures. Scientific manuscripts submitted to the journal Veterinary Sciences within the next 8 months by researchers, veterinary practitioners or other professionals working in the area of pig health and production will be considered for inclusion in the Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Dominiek Maes
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • pig health
  • welfare
  • production disease
  • pathogen

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 935 KiB  
Article
Experimental Infection with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Strain 232 in Swine Influences the Lower Respiratory Microbiota
by Henrique Meiroz de Souza Almeida, Karina Sonalio, Marina Lopes Mechler-Dreibi, Fernando Antônio Moreira Petri, Gabriel Yuri Storino, Dominiek Maes and Luís Guilherme de Oliveira
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(12), 674; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9120674 - 5 Dec 2022
Viewed by 2034
Abstract
Mycoplasma (M.) hyopneumoniae, the etiological agent of swine enzootic pneumonia, has been reported to increase the susceptibility to secondary infections and modulate the respiratory microbiota in infected pigs. However, no studies have assessed the influence of M. hyopneumoniae on the respiratory microbiota [...] Read more.
Mycoplasma (M.) hyopneumoniae, the etiological agent of swine enzootic pneumonia, has been reported to increase the susceptibility to secondary infections and modulate the respiratory microbiota in infected pigs. However, no studies have assessed the influence of M. hyopneumoniae on the respiratory microbiota diversity under experimental conditions. Therefore, this study evaluated the impact of M. hyopneumoniae infection on the respiratory microbiota of experimentally infected swine over time. To accomplish this, 12 weaned pigs from a M. hyopneumoniae-free farm were divided into two groups: M. hyopneumoniae strain 232 infected (n = 8) and non-infected (n = 4). The first group received 10 mL of Friis medium containing 107 CCU/mL of M. hyopneumoniae while the control group received 10 mL of sterile Friis medium. Inoculation of both groups was performed intratracheally when the animals were 35 days old (d0). At 28 days post-inoculation (dpi) and 56 dpi, 4 infected animals plus 2 controls were humanely euthanized, and biopsy samples of nasal turbinates (NT) and bronchus-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were collected. The DNA was extracted from the individual samples, and each group had the samples pooled and submitted to next-generation sequencing. Taxonomic analysis, alpha and beta diversity indexes, weighted unifrac, and unweighted unifrac distances were calculated. A high relative frequency (99%) of M. hyopneumoniae in BALF samples from infected animals was observed with no significant variation between time points. The infection did not seem to alter the diversity and evenness of bacterial communities in NT, thus, M. hyopneumoniae relative frequency was low in NT pools from infected animals (28 dpi—0.83%; 56 dpi—0.89%). PCoA diagrams showed that BALF samples from infected pigs were grouped and far from the control samples, whereas NT from infected animals were not separated from the control. Under the present coditions, M. hyopneumoniae infection influenced the lower respiratory microbiota, which could contribute to the increased susceptibility of infected animals to respiratory infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Findings on Long-Known Pathogens in Pigs)
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12 pages, 2292 KiB  
Article
Explorative Field Study on the Use of Oral Fluids for the Surveillance of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Infections in Fattening Farms by an Apx-Real-Time PCR
by Michael Kleinmans, Kerstin Fiebig, Robert Tabeling, Hanny Swam, Annelies Duivelshof-Crienen, Mathias Ritzmann and Matthias Eddicks
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(10), 552; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9100552 - 8 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1825
Abstract
Oral fluids (OFs) represent a cost effective and reliable tool for surveillance purposes, mostly regarding viruses. In the present study, we evaluated the suitability of OFs for surveillance purposes concerning Actinobacillus (A.) pleuropneumoniae infections in fattening pigs under field conditions. OFs [...] Read more.
Oral fluids (OFs) represent a cost effective and reliable tool for surveillance purposes, mostly regarding viruses. In the present study, we evaluated the suitability of OFs for surveillance purposes concerning Actinobacillus (A.) pleuropneumoniae infections in fattening pigs under field conditions. OFs were examined with an Apx-toxin real-time PCR that detects the genes encoding for Apx I-, Apx III-, and Apx IV-toxin. For this purpose, we conducted a pen-wise collection of OFs over one fattening period from fattening pigs of two farms (farm A and B) with a known history of A. pleuropneumoniae infection. Lung lesions were determined at slaughter to estimate the extend of pulmonary lesions and pleural affection. Apx III- and Apx IV-toxin DNA were present in the OFs of both farms whereas Apx I-toxin DNA was present on farm A only. We were able to detect Apx I-, Apx III-, and Apx IV-toxin DNA in different patterns directly after introduction of the new pigs in the farms and over the entire study period. In summary, or results indicate the suitability of OFS for the early detection and surveillance of A. pleuropneumoniae in fattening farms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Findings on Long-Known Pathogens in Pigs)
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12 pages, 1309 KiB  
Article
Experimental Infection of Pigs with a ST 245 Brachyspira hyodysenteriae Isolated from an Asymptomatic Pig in a Herd with No History of Swine Dysentery
by José Paulo H. Sato, Amanda G. S. Daniel, Carlos E. R. Pereira, Mariana R. Andrade, Ricardo P. Laub, Michelle P. Gabardo, Luisa V. A. Otoni, Nubia R. Macedo, Javier A. Barrera-Zarate and Roberto M. C. Guedes
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(6), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9060286 - 10 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3168
Abstract
Swine dysentery (SD) is characterized by a severe mucohemorrhagic colitis caused by infection with Brachyspira species. In infected herds the disease causes considerable financial loss due to mortality, slow growth rates, poor feed conversion, and costs of treatment. B. hyodysenteriae is the most [...] Read more.
Swine dysentery (SD) is characterized by a severe mucohemorrhagic colitis caused by infection with Brachyspira species. In infected herds the disease causes considerable financial loss due to mortality, slow growth rates, poor feed conversion, and costs of treatment. B. hyodysenteriae is the most common etiological agent of SD and infection is usually associated with disease. However, isolated reports have described low pathogenic strains of B. hyodysenteriae. The aim of this study was to describe an experimental infection trial using a subclinical B. hyodysenteriae isolated from an animal without clinical signs and from a disease-free herd, to evaluate the pathogenicity and clinical pathological characteristics compared to a highly clinical isolate. Forty-eight 5-week-old pigs were divided into three groups: control, clinical and the subclinical isolates. The first detection/isolation of B. hyodysenteriae in samples of the animals challenged with a known clinical B. hyodysenteriae strain (clinical group) occurred 5th day post inoculation. Considering the whole period of the study, 11/16 animals from this group were qPCR positive in fecal samples, and diarrhea was observed in 10/16 pigs. In the subclinical isolate group, one animal had diarrhea. There were SD large intestine lesions in 3 animals at necropsy and positive B. hyodysenteriae isolation in 7/15 samples of the subclinical group. In the control group, no diarrhea, gross/microscopic lesions, or qPCR positivity were observed. Clinical signs, bacterial isolation, macroscopic and histologic lesions were significantly difference among groups, demonstrating low pathogenicity of the subclinical isolate in susceptible pigs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Findings on Long-Known Pathogens in Pigs)
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Review

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16 pages, 401 KiB  
Review
On the Infectious Causes of Neonatal Piglet Diarrhoea—A Review
by Magdalena Jacobson
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(8), 422; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9080422 - 10 Aug 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4137
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to review current knowledge on the relationship between presumptive infectious agents and neonatal porcine diarrhoea (NPD). The literature provides information on the rationale for this causation, including the first mention, main understandings gained with respect to, e.g., [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper is to review current knowledge on the relationship between presumptive infectious agents and neonatal porcine diarrhoea (NPD). The literature provides information on the rationale for this causation, including the first mention, main understandings gained with respect to, e.g., pathogenesis, and the knowledge to date on the specific relationships. Further, surveys on the presence and relative importance of these pathogens in NPD are included and the methodology used to identify the causation are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Findings on Long-Known Pathogens in Pigs)
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