Antagonistic Effect of Intestinal Bacteria from the Microflora of Holoxenic (Conventional) Piglets, Against Clostridium Perfringens in the Digestive Tract of Gnotoxenic Mice and Gnotoxenic Piglets

Antagonistic effect of piglet microflora against Clostridium perfringens was studied in germfree mice, to isolate bacterial strains responsible for this colonization resistance. The 1:100 dilution of the feces of a 2 day-old conventional piglet, given per os to germfree mice already harboring C. perfringens, led to the elimination of C. perfringens. From this piglet flora, 8 bacterial strains were selected, belonging to the genera Bacteroides, Clostridium, Eubacterium, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and a strain belonging to the class of Mollicutes. When the 8 strains were given to germfree mice 3 days after C. perfringens inoculation, they led to rapid elimination of C. perfringens from feces. Sixteen other mixtures of 2 to 7 strains were similarly tested, but none was able to fully antagonize C. perfringens. When the 8 strains were given per os to germfree piglets after C. perfringens inoculation, they led to the rapid elimination of C. perfringens from pig feces, and to a quick recovery from diarrhea. This study led to the identification of a simplified fraction of gut microflora, able to exert a barrier effect against C. perfringens comparable to the entire flora of the piglet. This study suggests that gnotoxenic mice can be a suitable model for simplifying the flora responsible for a given effect in another host, animal or human

Corepig, final report of WP3: Development and evaluation of a HACCP based surveillance and management system

Organic farmer repeatedly face problems with suckling piglet mortality, weaning diarrhoea, en-doparasites and farrowing/reproduction. These problems are multifactorial, they are caused by many factors whereby the key factors often differ from farm to farm. Thus, it was the aim of the 3rd work package of Corepig to develop a management tool based on the HACCP (hazard anal-ysis critical control points) principle, which can be used by farmers, advisers and veterinarians to solve health problems on organic pig farms. Several teams of experts for organic pig production including advisers and researchers created four risk assessment protocols, one each for suckling piglet mortality, weaning diarrhoea, endo-parasites and farrowing/reproduction problems. As the lists of possible risk factors are long and complex, the assessment protocols were incorporated into semi-automated MS Excel® files. The tools were tested on 32 farms in Austria, Denmark, France and Germany, where risks for the four problem areas could but reduced on 72% of farms. Farmers as well as advisers acknowledged the HACCP based management tools as valuable helps for organic pig produc-tion. The revised tools and their descriptions can be downloaded from the project homepage at http://www.coreorganic.org/research/projects/corepig/index.html (to be launched 01.09.2011)

HACCP for Suckling Piglet Mortality

Deliverables of the COREPIG project are management tools based on the HACCP principle (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points). These tools help farmers (in a farm specific way) to solve and prevent problems with endoparasites, reproduction and farrowing problems, weaning diarrhoea and suckling piglet mortality. They are available as Microsoft Excel® files. We recommend that the tools be used by the farmer together with the farm's advisor or veterinarian. Each tool contains instructions for use and consists of three parts: i) a questionnaire for the farmer, ii) a check list to be used in the barn and iii) the farm specific report

Extensive horizontal gene transfer during Staphylococcus aureus co-colonization in vivo.

Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal and major pathogen of humans and animals. Comparative genomics of S. aureus populations suggests that colonization of different host species is associated with carriage of mobile genetic elements (MGE), particularly bacteriophages and plasmids capable of encoding virulence, resistance, and immune evasion pathways. Antimicrobial-resistant S. aureus of livestock are a potential zoonotic threat to human health if they adapt to colonize humans efficiently. We utilized the technique of experimental evolution and co-colonized gnotobiotic piglets with both human- and pig-associated variants of the lineage clonal complex 398, and investigated growth and genetic changes over 16 days using whole genome sequencing. The human isolate survived co-colonization on piglets more efficiently than in vitro. During co-colonization, transfer of MGE from the pig to the human isolate was detected within 4 h. Extensive and repeated transfer of two bacteriophages and three plasmids resulted in colonization with isolates carrying a wide variety of mobilomes. Whole genome sequencing of progeny bacteria revealed no acquisition of core genome polymorphisms, highlighting the importance of MGE. Staphylococcus aureus bacteriophage recombination and integration into novel sites was detected experimentally for the first time. During colonization, clones coexisted and diversified rather than a single variant dominating. Unexpectedly, each piglet carried unique populations of bacterial variants, suggesting limited transmission of bacteria between piglets once colonized. Our data show that horizontal gene transfer occurs at very high frequency in vivo and significantly higher than that detectable in vitro

A value chain analysis of interventions to control production diseases in the intensive pig production sector

Value chain analysis (VCA) calculated the financial effects on food chain actors of interventions to improve animal health and welfare in the intensive pig sector. Two interventions to reduce production diseases were studied. A generic chain diagram of linkages between stakeholders and value-added dimensions was designed. Data on structure and financial performance were collected for the sector. The production parameters and financial effects of the interventions were then described to illustrate impact on the supply chain. The effects of the interventions were also assessed at market level using economic welfare analysis. The sectors in Finland and the UK are small in farm numbers and few companies produced much of the output in a largely vertically-integrated structure. The most beneficial intervention in financial terms to farmers was improved hygiene in pig fattening (around +50% in gross margin). It was calculated to reduce the consumer price for pig meat by up to 5% when applied at large, whereas for improved management measures, it would reduce consumer price by less than 0.5%. However, the latter added value also through food quality attributes. We show that good hygiene and animal care can add value. However, evaluation of the financial and social viability of the interventions is needed to decide what interventions are adopted. The structure of supply chains influences which policy measures could be applied. Of the two interventions, improved pig hygiene had the largest potential to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The studied interventions can also provide new business opportunities to farms, slaughterhouses and food sector companies. More evidence is needed to support public policies and business decision-making in the sector. For this, evidence on consumer attitudes to production diseases is needed. Nevertheless, the study makes an important contribution by showing how improvements in health and welfare benefit the whole chain

Chlamydia suis, an emerging Chlamydiaceae species in pigs?

Chlamydiaceae are Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacteria that can infect a broad range of animals and humans. Chlamydial infection of livestock, companion animals, and other animals may result in conjunctivitis, enteritis, pneumonia, abortion, rhinitis or arthritis but there is also a high incidence of apparently asymptomatic infections. Pigs can become infected by Chlamydophila pecorum, Chlamydophila abortus, Chlamydophila psittaci and Chlamydia suis (Everett et al., 1999). Chlamydial infections are nearly endemic in the Belgian pig population as 96% of the examined sera reacted positive in a recombinant major outer membrane protein (MOMP) antigen-based ELISA (Vanrompay et al., 2004). The purpose of this study was to examine the current serological status of our pig herd and to identify the chlamydial species involved in infecting Belgian pigs. At present, 193 (97%) of 200 examined farms tested positive for Chlamydiaceae-specific antibodies. We tried to identify the Chlamydiaceae species using a diagnostic platform comprising of culture, a Chlamydiaceae-species specific microarray and a PCR for the detection of the Chlamydia suis tetracyclin resistant gene tet(C). Our results were in accordance with the serological results, as Chlamydiaceae, and especially C. suis was highly prevalent in slaughtered pigs, in pigs ending up in the autopsy room of the Provincial Laboratory for the Prevention of Animals Diseases and in four different farms dealing with reproductive disorders. Furthermore, we could demonstrate C. suis in the eyes, the respiratory, the intestinal and the reproductive tract of sows and in semen samples of boars. We found no other species, with the exception of one Cp. pecorum and one Cp. abortus strain. In the present study, we demonstrated emerging tet(C) positive C. suis strains among Chlamydiaceae infections in pigs. Moreover, C. suis, for which Koch’s postulates have already been fulfilled in the past, are widespread in pigs throughout the world. Research towards the development of preventive measurements like probiotics (Pollmann et al., 2005) or vaccines should be promoted. In the future, the spread of tetracyclin resistant C. suis strains, for instance through international trading of boar sperm, should be carefully monitored as this may present a treat to human health

Analysis of a Japan government intervention on the domestic agriculture market

We investigate an economic system in which one large agent - the Japan government changes the environment of numerous smaller agents - the Japan agriculture producers by indirect regulation of prices of agriculture goods. The reason for this intervention was that before the oil crisis in 1974 Japan agriculture production prices exhibited irregular and large amplitude changes. By means of analysis of correlations and a combination of singular spectrum analysis (SSA), principal component analysis (PCA), and time delay phase space construction (TDPSC) we study the influence of the government measures on the domestic piglet prices and production in Japan. We show that the government regulation politics was successful and leaded (i) to a decrease of the nonstationarities and to increase of predictability of the piglet price; (ii) to a coupling of the price and production cycles; (iii) to increase of determinism of the dynamics of the fluctuations of piglet price around the year average price. The investigated case is an example confirming the thesis that a large agent can change in a significant way the environment of the small agents in complex (economic or financial) systems which can be crucial for their survival or extinction.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures presented at APFA5, Torino, Italy, 29.06-01.07.200

Knowledge synthesis: Animal health and welfare in organic pig production - Final Report COREPIG

This report reviews the available information on the welfare of pigs when maintained according to organic standards in Europe. It begins by overviewing the populations of organic pigs in different countries at the time of writing (2007), the organic standards which govern their management and the systems in which they are typically kept. It then reviews for each stage in the production cycle (sows, suckling piglets, weaned pigs and fattening pigs) the available literature on health and welfare problems which might be experienced by the animals and the hazards which might give rise to these problems. Finally the report reviews the methods current available for the measurement of pig health and welfare and the extent to which monitoring systems currently exist in different countries, or might be developed. The information gathered in this review formed the basis for the subsequent development of tools for use in a HACCP based management and surveillance system for organic pig herds. These tools will assist the organic pig farmer to prevent selected pig diseases and welfare problems by monitoring and controlling the risk factors. Further details can be found on the COREPIG project website www.icrofs.org/coreorganic/corepig.htm

Nasal Bacterial Microbiome: Probing a Healthy Porcine Family

Upper respiratory tract (URT) infection caused the leading and devastating diseases in pigs. It was believed that the normal microbiome of URT plays a vital role in health and disease development. As the entry point of the URT, little knowledge of bacterial microbiome in porcine nasal was known. A cultivation-independent approach directly to 16s ribosomal RNA genes enabled us to reveal the nasal bacterial community, structure and diversity. Here, we found that an unprecedented 207 phylotypes were characterized from 933 qualified clones, indicating the variable, species richness but particularly dominant bacterial microbiome. The dominant species were from genus Comamonas and Acinetobacter, which constitute core normal bacterial microbiome in porcine nasal. Moreover, a set of swine specific pathogens and zoonotic agents were detected in the swine nasal microbiome. Collectively, we provided a snapshot of our current knowledge of the community structure of porcine nasal bacterial ecosystem in a healthy family that will further enhance our view to understand URT infection and public health