A prevalence study ofSalmonellaspp.,Yersiniaspp.,Toxoplasma gondiiand porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in UK pigs at slaughter

Abstract

An abattoir-based study was undertaken between January and May 2013 to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella spp. and Yersinia spp. carriage and seroprevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv) in UK pigs at slaughter. In total, 626 pigs were sampled at 14 abattoirs that together process 80% of the annual UK pig slaughter throughput. Sampling was weighted by abattoir throughput and sampling dates and pig carcasses were randomly selected. Rectal swabs, blood samples, carcass swabs and the whole caecum, tonsils, heart and tongue were collected. Salmonella spp. was isolated from 30·5% [95% confidence interval (CI) 26·5-34·6] of caecal content samples but only 9·6% (95% CI 7·3-11·9) of carcass swabs, which was significantly lower than in a UK survey in 2006-2007. S. Typhimurium and S. 4,[5],12:i:- were the most commonly isolated serovars, followed by S. Derby and S. Bovismorbificans. The prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica carriage in tonsils was 28·7% (95% CI 24·8-32·7) whereas carcass contamination was much lower at 1·8% (95% CI 0·7-2·8). The seroprevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and PRRSv was 7·4% (95% CI 5·3-9·5) and 58·3% (95% CI 53·1-63·4), respectively. This study provides a comparison to previous abattoir-based prevalence surveys for Salmonella and Yersinia, and the first UK-wide seroprevalence estimates for antibodies to Toxoplasma and PRRSv in pigs at slaughter.

Changes in perceptions and motivators that influence the implementation of on-farm Salmonella control measures by pig farmers in England

“…The prevalence of Salmonella in the UK breeding pig holdings was the fourth highest of all participating countries (Anon, 2009a). In 2013, a third survey in UK abattoirs confirmed the presence of Salmonella in 30.5% of the caecal content of slaughtered pigs (Powell et al, 2015).…”

UK Pigs at the Time of Slaughter: Investigation into the Correlation of Infection with PRRSV and HEV

“…The overall study design for the abattoir survey has been described previously [14]. Briefly, 626 qualifying pigs were sampled at 14 abattoirs in England and Northern Ireland, between January and May 2013.…”

“…Antibody to PRRSV had been detected in 362 of 621 plasma samples, with 11 additional samples being inconclusive [14]. Only 610 of these plasma samples were also analyzed for the presence of antibodies to HEV, with 354 of these being sero-positive for PRRSV.…”

“…Existing data for PRRSV seropositivity [14] and HEV seropositivity and active infection [15] were collated with data obtained in this study for PRRSV active infection. Associations between the two viruses, or antibodies to them, in the same carcasses were investigated using χ 2 tests, with Stata v.12 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA).…”

“…In 2013, an abattoir-based study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of various pathogens including HEV and PRRSV in UK-reared pigs at slaughter and seroprevalence for PRRSV was 58.3% (362/621) [14], while HEV seroprevalence was 92.8% (584/629). Approximately 5.7% of pigs were HEV viremic (36/629) and around one in five pigs had evidence of an active HEV infection (129/629), with HEV RNA detected in serum or cecal contents [15].…”