Pneumocystis spp. in Pigs: A Longitudinal Quantitative Study and Co-Infection Assessment in Austrian Farms

Abstract

While Pneumocystis has been recognized as both a ubiquitous commensal fungus in immunocompetent mammalian hosts and a major opportunistic pathogen in humans responsible for severe pneumonias in immunocompromised patients, in pigs its epidemiology and association with pulmonary diseases have been rarely reported. Nevertheless, the fungus can be quite abundant in porcine populations with up to 51% of prevalence reported so far. The current study was undertaken to longitudinally quantify Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. suis and other pulmonary pathogens in a cohort of 50 pigs from five Austrian farms (i.e., 10 pigs per farm) with a history of respiratory disease at five time points between the first week and the fourth month of life. The fungus was present as early as the suckling period (16% and 26% of the animals in the first and the third week, respectively), yet not in a high amount. Over time, both the organism load (highest 4.4 × 105 copies/mL) and prevalence (up to 88% of positive animals in the third month) increased in each farm. The relative prevalence of various coinfection patterns was significantly different over time. The current study unravelled a complex co-infection history involving Pneumocystis and other pulmonary pathogens in pigs, suggesting a relevant role of the fungus in the respiratory disease scenario of this host.

Detection of Pneumocystis and Morphological Description of Fungal Distribution and Severity of Infection in Thirty-Six Mammal Species

“…The results of the present study supplement and confirm previous findings of our research group. Pneumocystis appears to be quite abundant in porcine populations with up to 51% of prevalence reported [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. In our study, Pneumocystis was primarily located in the alveoli and associated mainly with interstitial pneumonia.…”

Meta-Analysis and Systematic Literature Review of the Genus Pneumocystis in Pet, Farm, Zoo, and Wild Mammal Species

“…Sus scrofa (wild boar) [6,9,17], Sus scrofa domesticus (domestic pig) [6,[8][9][10][11][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Carnivora (carnivores) Ailuridae (red pandas) Ailurus fulgens (lesser panda) [37] Canidae (canids)…”

Maintenance of gut microbiome stability for optimum intestinal health in pigs – a review

“…Although the bacterial component of the microbiome is the major component affecting gut microbiome, the ability of the fungal microbiome, mycobiome has also been found to alter gut microbial community structure and cause disease [12][13][14][15]. Commensal fungi and viruses may also cause the alteration in the severity of disease and modification of immunological responses [16][17][18][19].…”