A surveillance of enteropathogens in piglets from birth to seven days of age in Brazil

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the real importance of anaerobic enteropathogens and rotavirus in contrast to more common agents as cause of diarrhea in piglets within the first week of life. Sixty 1-to 7-day-old piglets, 30 diarrheic and 30 non-diarrheic (control), from 15 different herds were selected, euthanized and necropsied. Samples of the jejunum, ileum, colon, cecum and feces were collected from the piglets and analyzed to determine the presence of the following enteropathogens: enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), Clostridium perfringens types A and C, Clostridium difficile, rotavirus and Isospora suis. Among diarrheic piglets, 23.3% were positive for C. difficile, 70% for C. perfringens type A cpb2+, 14.3% for rotavirus and 10% for ETEC. Among non-diarrheic control piglets, 10% were positive for C. difficile, 76.7% for C. perfringens type A cpb2+, 0% for rotavirus, 3.3% for ETEC and 3.3% for I. suis. C. perfringens type C was not detected in any of the animals. Histological lesions characteristic of C. difficile, E. coli and rotavirus were observed. However, no C. perfringens type A suggestive lesions were detected. There was a positive correlation between mesocolon edema and the presence of C. difficile toxins. Although C. perfringens type A cpb2+ was the most frequently detected enteropathogen, there was no association between its presence and diarrhea or macro or microscopic changes. C. difficile and Rotavirus were the most relevant pathogens involved with neonatal diarrhea in this study, and histopathology associated with microbiological test proved to be the key to reach a final diagnosis. com lesões foi encontrada. C. difficile e Rotavirus foram os agentes mais relevantes associados à diarreia neonatal, e ficou demonstrada a relevância de associação de histopatologia com testes de detecção microbiológica para se firmar um diagnóstico.

Diarrhoea in neonatal piglets: a case control study on microbiological findings

“…Many studies have found that CPA cpb2 does not seem to be associated with neonatal diarrhoea [6, 32–34], which is supported by this study. For many years, C. perfringens type A has been a suspected pathogen in neonatal diarrhoea, but no studies have convincingly supported this claim.…”

“…Previous examinations of neonatal diarrhoea in Danish and Swedish herds suggested that Enterococcus spp., rotavirus A and E. coli carrying EAST1 virulence genes might be of significance [1–3]. Other studies suggest that Clostridium difficile ( C. difficile ) and C. perfringens type A containing beta2 toxin gene (CPA cpb2) may be relevant to investigate further in relation to neonatal diarrhoea [4–6]. …”

Prevention of Clostridium difficile infection in hamsters using a non-toxigenic strain

“…In swine, the disease affects one-to seven-day-old animals and is subclinical, resulting in decreased body development and reduction of the zootechnical indexes of the swine farm (SONGER & ANDERSON, 2006). Surveys conducted in Brazil suggested a high prevalence of C. difficile in neonatal piglets, emphasizing the increased importance of this disease in this age group (SILVA et al, 2011;CRUZ JUNIOR et al, 2013). In addition, in equines, CDI affects young and adult animals, with pre-antimicrobial therapy being one of the main predisposing factors for disease development (BÅVERUD et al, 2003).…”

Clostridium perfringens: a review of the disease in pigs, horses and broiler chickens

“…Thus, cpb2 was used as a virulence factor marker for the diagnosis of C. perfringens type A diarrhea in swine. However, some recent results, including one study performed on Brazilian farms, showed no differences between the prevalence of cpb2-positive strains in diarrheic and non-diarrheic piglets (WOLLSCHLÄGER et al, 2009;CRUZ-JUNIOR et al, 2013;FARZAN et al, 2013). In addition, molecular studies showed a slight difference in the genetic composition and activity of cpb2-positive swine isolates (JOST et al, 2006a;JOST et al, 2006b).…”

“…The disease is described as a nonhemorrhagic mucoid diarrhea and is characterized by mucosal necrosis and villus atrophy, without attachment and invasion by the microorganism (SONGER & UZAL 2005). According to some studies, lesions may also be absent; in light of this, some groups have stated that C. perfringens diarrhea in neonatal piglets might be secretory (SONGER & UZAL, 2005;CRUZ-JUNIOR et al, 2013).…”