Pathogen presence in feral pigs and their movement around two commercial piggeries in Queensland, Australia

Abstract

Feral pigs are wild animal reservoirs of infectious pathogens transmissible to other species, all of which are transmissible to domestic pigs. The objective of this study was to detect the presence of harmful production-limiting pathogens; Brucella suis, Leptospira species, Lawsonia intracellularis, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in a feral pig population within a 10 km radius of two large-scale commercial piggeries in Southern Queensland, Australia. The movement pattern of six pigs within the feral population was also investigated using geographic positioning system collars. All pathogens were present in the feral pig population except for A pleuropneumoniae. The true seroprevalence (TP) from 83 serum samples was 10.5 per cent for B suis, 48.6 per cent for Leptospira species, 100 per cent for L intracellularis and 42.1 per cent for M hyopneumoniae. Of 72 lung samples, 27.6 per cent were positive for M hyopneumoniae. Serum samples from 86 domestic sows within the study region were positive for Leptospira species (TP 2.1 per cent), L intracellularis (TP 100 per cent) and M hyopneumoniae (TP 100 per cent). The majority of feral pig movement was within 5 km of the piggeries, with one approaching to 100 m of the free-range piggery. The presence of pathogens in feral pigs in such close proximity to commercial piggeries could pose a biosecurity risk.

Leptospira Seroprevalence Among Ugandan Slaughter Cattle: Comparison of Sero-Status With Renal Leptospira Infection

“…In this regard, we already are testing kidneys collected from rodents trapped from several ecological sites, to establish the renal carriage of pathogenic Leptospira and genomic identity of Leptospira species carried by rodents in Uganda. In the present study, we found a high prevalence of anti-Leptospira antibodies against serovar Tarassovi, which has also been reported in cattle (18,23) and pigs (24,25) in East Africa and elsewhere. Though there are not many published reports of leptospirosis in other species of animals in Uganda, we still think that the nature of animal husbandry practices may facilitate interspecies interactions and spread of Leptospira infection.…”

Seroepidemiology of Leptospira infection in backyard pigs in Durango State, Mexico

“…In contrast, in a study in New South Wales, researchers found antibodies to L. interrogans serovar Pomona in 53% of 239 feral pigs surveyed [ 21 ]. Furthermore, a high seroreactivity rate (48.6%) to Leptospira species was found in feral pigs in Queensland, Australia [ 22 ]. It is not clear why pigs in our study had a higher seroprevalence than pigs in other studies.…”

Wild Boar: A Reservoir of Foodborne Zoonoses

“…High detection rates of HEV (>20%) were reported in in Czeck Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Spain (Anheyer-Behmenburg et al, 2017, Dorn-In et al, 2017, Jori et al, 2016, Kubankova et al, 2015, Mesquita et al, 2016, Montagnaro et al, 2015, Rivero-Juarez et al, 2018, Spancerniene et al, 2018. particularly at risk of inter-population transmission with wild boars because they belong to the same species and share the same community of potential pathogens (Pearson et al, 2014).…”