5 research outputs found
The Probiotic Properties of Lactobacilli in Organic Pigs
Indigenous Lactobacilli are suitable probiotics because they adapt well in the hosts and ecological niches. Here we test local Lactobacillus for future application in the pigs as the farm-autogenous strains. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the probiotic properties of Lactobacillus isolated from the feces of antibiotic-free organic pigs. The properties include bile salt and pepsin tolerance, survival in storage (37 & 4 oC) and probiotic-packaging (50 oC) temperatures, antibiogram, and antagonistic activity against Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 13311 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. Eighteen isolates with three different species were tested in this study as follows: L. reuteri (seven strains), L. mucosae (ten strains), and L. plantarum (one strain). Four isolates—L. reuteri-OP1, L. mucosae-OP2, L. mucosae-OP3, and L. reuteri-OP17—had good in vitro probiotic characteristics. Eleven isolates completely inhibited both E. coli and S. typhimurium. The other isolates are perfectly disabled, either E. coli or S. typhimurium. Despite that, they caused a reduction in the numbers of each pathogen. All Lactobacilli tested were susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanate, ampicillin, and imipenem. Most isolates were sensitive to clindamycin (72%), gentamicin (56%), and tetracycline (50%). Half of the proportions were somewhat sensitive/resistant to cefotaxime (39/44%), tetracycline (50/39%), and streptomycin (39/56%). One hundred percent of Lactobacilli were resistant to norfloxacin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and vancomycin, while 94% were resistant to enrofloxacin. Most of the local Lactobacilli passed in vitro tests, but the efficacy of probiotics in pigs awaits further in vivo investigation. Therefore, the potential probiotic strains derived from this study could be selected for further evaluation of their probiotic roles in economic pigs
Seroepidemiology of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus infection on commercial farms
The serum neutralisation (SN)
antibody levels to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus (PRRSV) in
commercial swine farms are not well understood. In diagnostic laboratories,
the SN test has not been routinely used, because the test requires specific skills and longer
times (3-5 days) to obtain the results. Unlike other serologic tests, the
SN method uses intact live virus as the antigen. The SN antibody titers are correlated with
the antibody response to the major envelope glycoproteins of PRRSV.
Following an infection with PRRSV, pigs initially develop non-neutralizing antibodies
concurrent with the viremic period. Once pigs develop neutralizing
antibodies, viremia is usually absent. The presence of SN antibody and absence of viremia
suggest that the SN method could likely measure protective immunity
for PRRSV infection. In this paper, the SN responses in pigs following experimental or
natural infection with PRRSV are reported. Also, sow SN antibody profiles
from different commercial farms are presented. Sera from pigs inoculated with different
wild-type PRRSV, or with a modified live virus (MLV) vaccine and a killed
vaccine were tested for SN antibody to homologous and heterologous PRRSV. Differences in SN
titers were observed when monospecific sera were tested against PRRSV
isolates with different RFLP patterns, while there was no major difference in SN titers when
sera from pigs inoculated twice with PRRSV of heterologous origin or
sera from farms with endemic PRRSV infection were tested. The SN titers were negative or
markedly low when the same sera were tested against the Lelystad virus
(LV). These results indicate that similar SN titers would be expected, irrespective of the
reference virus used, if pigs are exposed to multiple PRRSV strains
under field conditions. Monthly SN titers from 20 sows of an endemically infected farm
without vaccination were tested. Mean log SN titers decreased to
less than 1.0 for the first 3 months and increased to more than 3.0 for the next 3 months. No
major difference was noted for SN titers when compared using a
farm-specific virus and a MLV. It is interesting to note that a minor clinical PRRS outbreak
was reported during the third month on this farm. The SN antibody
levels on 20 different farms were investigated. Thirty to 60 sera from randomly selected sows
along with information concerning previous clinical PRRS outbreaks
and the current vaccination program were collected from each farm. Of 944 sera from the 20
farms, 496 (52.5%) were positive by the SN test. Five of the 20 farms
did not have SN positive pigs and were found to be free of PRRS virus infection. The
remaining 15 farms were SN positive, with the prevalence ranging from
17.5 - 100% with mean log SN titers of 0.2-5.3. Farms with recent clinical PRRS had high
mean log SN titers (1.9-5.3). One farm had a mean SN titer of 1.0,
and clinical PRRS was experienced 3 months later. Five farms vaccinating MLV followed by
subsequent autogenous killed vaccine for their introduced gilts showed
mean SN titers of 0.2-3.0. On commercial swine farms, herd SN profiles for breeding pigs
could be classified into 3 major patterns; high for farms with recent
clinical PRRS, a mixture of high, low and negative for farms with endemic infection, and
negative or low for farms with no clinical PRRS. On endemically infected
farms, SN titers will fluctuate, with infection being maintained among susceptible
subpopulation and newly introduced pigs. The SN titers will be low or
negative following an outbreak with a single strain of PRRSV, and infection will be
stabilized in such herds. Similarly, a naĂŻve farm using only a MLV
vaccine will have no or low SN titers. On the other hand, herds with high SN titer profiles
( 1:4) could indicate infection with multiple strains of PRRSV. It
has been reported that SN antibody becomes detectable after cessation of viremia in pigs
following a PRRSV infection. In our previous study, the challenge
virus was not isolated from the sows with detectable SN antibodies. For this reason, we
propose that SN antibody may be used as an indicator for protection
from viremia, and that herd SN antibody profiles be used to measure the risk levels in swine
herds