A re-examination of the role of Campylobacter fetus subspecies coli in enteric disease of the pig

Abstract

Campylobacter fetus subspecies coli was isolated from the small intestines of 17 piglets less than six weeks of age submitted for diagnosis. Sixteen of these animals had enteritis and in five of them no other probable bacterial cause of the enteric lesions was identified. Changes including congestion of the small intestinal mucosa, reduction in the height of the villi, thickening of the terminal ileum and histological evidence for inflammatory change in the small intestine were seen at post mortem examination. C f subsp coli was also isolated from the large intestinal mucosa of all the infected pits. In a further study, the organism was recovered from the colonic mucosa of 10 weaned animals treated for experimental swine dysentery. Two of these animals which had had a persistent mucoid diarrhoea were found to have large intestinal lesions resembling those of mild swine dysentery. No spirochaetes could be demonstrated in or isolated from the lesions seen in these two animals or from the other eight. The possibility that C f subsp coli may be a cause of enteritis in unweaned piglets and produce changes primarily in the small intestine is discussed. Evidence that C f subsp coli may cause large intestinal lesions in weaned pigs under certain circumstances is also discussed.

Newborn piglet model for campylobacteriosis

“…The present study confirms previous observations of Campylobacter-associated enteric disease in young piglets (31) and supports their use in investigating virulence factors associated with C. jejuni. The application of infecting this host with defined mutant strains, such as those deficient in invasin antigens, can clarify some of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenicity of C. jejuni.…”

A survey of campylobacter in animals

“…Such a clear difference was not observed in cattle and sheep. Taylor & Olubumni (1981) concluded that C. coli may be a cause of enteritis in pigs, and these findings support this view.…”

Identification of Campylobacter coli isolates from animals and humans by bacterial restriction endonuclease DNA analysis

“…The different management regimes and the frequent introduction of new animals to the pig-rearing unit may in part explain this phenomenon. The conflicting results of experimentally infecting pigs with C. cli reported by different countries (1,2,6,23,34,35) could possibly be explained by the fact that different strains, which had various degrees of pathogenicity, were used. BRENDA typing could be used to more precisely identify such strains.…”