Control strategies for Salmonella in the pig to pork chain in the European Union

Within the European Union Salmonella and Campylobacter are the zoonotic agents with the highest public health impact. Therefore, there is an ongoing need to protect the health of consumers. In the European policy, measures are adopted to battle against Salmonella in poultry which is considered the most important source of human infection. There are several sources of infortnation as regards the Salmonella situation in the pig to pork chain: in some Member States, Salmonella findings in swine are notifiable and action is taken by the official veterinarian; post mortem health inspection includes microbiological tests for salmonella of all suspect animals; laboratory findings in diagnostic examinations of clinically affected artimals are collated routinely; results of typing strains are available at the National Reference Laboratories which had been implemented in all Member States of the European Union following the provisions of the Council Directive 92/117/EEC. Compulsory control programmes are in some Member States already in force to combat Salmonella in swine. Furthermore, in several countries of the European Union monitoring plans have been established, partly following the Danish approach. These plans are mainly conducted on a voluntary basis or run within highly integrated companies. Both, bacteriological and serological methods are applied. These programmes include the basal production at the farm level to estimate the Salmonella input into the food chain, the slaughterhouses and the retail level. Breeding herds are involved in some programmes as this is true for feedingstuffs

Antimicrobial resistance of commensal E. coli from the pork food chain in Germany

In the framework of the National Zoonoses Monitoring in Germany, E. coli from pigs and pork as well as from wild boar meat have been tested for their resistance to a panel of 14 antimicrobials using the broth microdilution method according to CLSI. The determined minimum inhibitory concentrations were evaluated based on the epidemiological cut-off values as provided by EUCAST

Salmonella in pork – Lessons to be learned from salmonella control in poultry

Based on Reg. (EC) No. 2160/2003, programs to control Salmonella in primary production in poultry have been decided and implemented in Europe. This paper addresses the question of the efficacy of these programs to reduce the incidence of salmonellosis in humans in Germany

Salmonella in pigs and pork and their antimicrobial resistance - 10 years of surveillance in Germany

Salmonella from pigs and pork have been submitted to the National Reference Laboratory for the Analysis and Testing of Zoonoses (Salmonella) (NRL Salm) for a number of years. This study retrospectively analyses the data of Salmonella and their antimicrobial resistance generated between 2000 and 2009. A total of 4163 isolates from pigs and 1839 isolates from pork submitted to the NRL Salm were serotyped and tested for antimicrobial resistance using the broth microdilution method. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were evaluated using epidemiological cut-off values as provided by EUCAST (www.eucast.org) at the time of interpretation (2010). The majority of isolates from pigs and pork belonged to three serovars: S. Typhimurium (66 and 52%), monophasic variant of S. Typhimurium (1,4,[5],12:i:-) (11 and 10%) and S. Derby (7 and 10%). In both origins the number of S. Typhimurium decreased by roughly 50% while monophasic variant of S. Typhimurium increased from zero to 32 and 26%, respectively. The proportion of S. Derby varied between 5 and 12% in both origins

Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in the pork food chain in Germany

This paper gives an overview on studies carried out in Germany on the prevalence of MRSA on different stages of the pork food chain. Prevalence studies were carried out on herd level for breeding (201 herds) and fattening pits (290 herds), at abattoirs (n=1026 pigs), in a pork processing facility and in pig meat at retail. MRSA were characterized using spa-typing SCCmec-typing and testing for antimicrobial resistance

Co-occurrence of the bla(VIM-1) and bla(SHV-12) genes on an IncHI2 plasmid of an Escherichia coli isolate recovered from German livestock

The dissemination of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) is an important public health issue. The number of human CPE isolates has been steadily increasing during recent years, worldwide. Despite the fact that carbapenems are not licensed for use in veterinary medicine, increasing numbers of CPE from the veterinary sector have been reported. The transmission of CPE between pets/livestock and exposed humans as well as via food has been demonstrated. In this study, a detailed characterization of a carbapenem-resistant porcine Escherichia coli co-harbouring blaVIM-1, blaSHV-12 and blaACC-1 genes, along with other resistance genes, is provided

Pilot study on the prevalence of salmonella in slaughter pigs in Germany: IV. Field experiences using the Danish serological method for detection

In an interlaboratory study on the prevalence of Salmonellae in German slaughter pigs a comparison of the traditional bacteriological and the serological technique used in the Danish Salmonella control programme was included. In total, about 12000 animals were investigated using both techniques. Samples were collected from February through June 1996. Seven slaughterhouses distributed over the whole country participated on a voluntary basis. A total of 11,942 animals delivered in 752 lots at ten occasions to the participating slaughterhouses were investigated. The lots often comprised pigs from individual finishing farms. From each lot, a maximum of 50 animals were sampled. A faecal swab, a mesenteric lymph node and a meat sample were collected from each carcass. The results of the microbiological analysis of faeces and lymph nodes of each animal were described in separate presentations

MRSA in herds of fattening pigs in Germany- Associated risk factors

We investigated the association of putative risk factors with the prevalence of MRSA in herds of fattening pigs. Dust samples of 282 herds in Germany were collected in 2008. lnfonnation regarding herd characteristics and management practices was collected in a standardized questionnaire. Dust samples were pooled per farm and cultured using selective enrichment and chromogenic media. Presumptive MRSA-isolates were confirmed by multiplex-PCR for the detection of 16S rDNA, nuc and mecA genes. The association of management factors with prevalence was detennined using univariate logistic regression. Multivariate models were not used on account of substantial multicollinearity between the variables

Pilot study on the prevalence of salmonella in slaughter pigs in Germany: III. Detection of salmonellae by PCR, serovar distribution and population analysis of isolates

In a survey on the prevalence of Salmonellae in German slaughter pigs, almost 12,000 pig carcasses were investigated by standard cultural, immunological and PCR technique\u27s. Seven abattoirs distributed all over Germany were included into the study. Each abattoir was investigated on ten weekly sampling occasions. In total 6% of all slaughter pigs were positive in faecal or lymphnode material. This number increased to I 0% when surface swabs were evaluated as well. From all sources nearly 1400 bacterial isolates were obtained and characterised by traditional and molecular typing methods. Typing at the National Reference Laboratory for Salmonella (NRL) follows a hierarchic protocol. At the beginning the serotype is determined by using poly- and monoclonal antisera for standard slide agglutination. In total 28 serotypes could be detected

Association of Salmonella spp. in slaughter pigs with farm management factors

The objective of the study was to investigate the assoctatwn of farm management factors with the detection of Salmonella in lymph nodes of pigs at slaughter. Samples were collected in German abattoirs in the course of the EU baseline study on Salmonella in slaughter pigs from October 2006 to September 2007. A minimum of 5 lymph nodes (\u3e15 g sample weight) were collected from pigs at slaughter and examined for Salmonella according to IS06579:2003, Annex D. Data were collected using a standardized data capture form to be filled in by the veterinary officials. Additional information was available in a subsample (85112569) of the pigs included in that study. The association of factors was tested using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Separate analyses were run for a: Salmonella spp., b: specifically for S. Typhimurium, the most prevalent Salmonella serovar in the study population and c: for all other serovars grouped together