Administration of non-pathogenic isolates of Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens type A to piglets in a herd affected with a high incidence of neonatal diarrhoea

Abstract

A bacterial cocktail of living strains of Clostridium perfringens type A (CPA) without β2-toxin gene and non-pathogenic Escherichia coli was administered orally to newborn piglets before first colostrum intake and on 2 consecutive days on a farm with a high incidence of diarrhoea and antibiotic treatment in suckling piglets associated with E. coli and CPA. This clinical field study was driven by the hypothetic principle of competitive exclusion of pathogenic bacteria due to prior colonization of the gut mucosal surface by non-pathogenic strains of the same bacterial species with the aim of preventing disease. Although CPA strains used in this study did not produce toxins in vitro, their lack of pathogenicity cannot be conclusively confirmed. The health status of the herd was impaired by a high incidence of postpartum dysgalactia syndrome in sows (70%) and a high incidence of neonatal diarrhoea caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli and CPA during the study. No obvious adverse effect of the bacterial treatment occurred. On average, more piglets were weaned in litters treated ( P = 0.009). Visual pathological alterations in the small intestinal wall were more frequent in dead piglets of the control group (P = 0.004) and necrotizing enteritis was only found in that group. A higher average daily weight gain of piglets in the control group ( P < 0.001) may be due to an increased milk uptake due to less competition in the smaller litters. The bacterial cocktail was tested under field conditions for its potential to stabilize gut health status in suckling piglets before disease development due to colibacillosis and clostridial infections; however, the gut flora stabilizing effect of the bacterial cocktail was not clearly discernible in this study. Further basic research is needed to confirm the positive effects of the bacterial treatment used and to identify additional potential bacterial candidates for competitive exclusion.

Viral and bacterial investigations on the aetiology of recurrent pig neonatal diarrhoea cases in Spain

“…and incubated 6 to 8 h at 37 °C under anaerobic conditions; 1 mL was centrifuged at 11.000 x g for 5 min. The supernatant was used to detect α-, β- and β2-toxins by immunoblotting [ 27 ]; α and β toxin presence was defined by positive or negative, and only β2 production was semi quantitatively recorded (strongly positive, positive, weakly positive and negative) [ 28 ]. For genotyping purposes, a single colony from a pure agar culture was selected and suspended in 150 μL lysis buffer, incubated for 90 min at 60 °C and then heated at 97 °C for 15 min.…”

In Vitro Characterization of Indigenous Probiotic Strains Isolated from Colombian Creole Pigs

“…During the first week of life, piglets commonly encounter infections from Clostridium perfringens type A or enterotoxigenic E. coli [ 8 , 9 ]. To date, several compounds have been used as alternatives to antibiotics, such as organic acids, probiotics, prebiotics, and plant extracts.…”

Antimicrobial Usage Among Different Age Categories and Herd Sizes in Swiss Farrow-to-Finish Farms

“…Since PPDS is related to reduced colostrum production, it could also partly explain the significant relationship between the AMU of sows and suckling pigs identified in this study. The connection between reduced colostrum intake and increased mortality and susceptibility to disease such as diarrhea caused by Escherichia coli has been observed previously (51,52); increased usage of antimicrobials for piglets in such cases could therefore also be assumed. In contrast to Sarrazin et al (18) and Sjölund et al (26), this was the only significant relationship among the different age categories in this study.…”