Evaluation Of Different Probiotic Products For Nursery Pigs

Cassandra JonesA total of 315 nursery pigs (200 × 400; DNA, Columbus, NE; initially 13.6 lb BW) were used in a 44 d study to determine the effects of experimental probiotics on the growth performance of nursery pigs. Pigs were weaned at 21 d of age (d 0 of the experiment) and randomly assigned to 1 of 9 treatments with 5 pigs per pen and 7 pens per treatment based on gender and BW. Dietary treatments consisted of: 1) a control diet without antibiotic or probiotic; 2) the control diet with an antibiotic (Mecadox 10; 50 g/ton of diet); 3) the control diet with a commercial probiotic (Bioplus 2B; 1 lb/ton of diet); and 4-9) the control diet containing 1 of 6 experimental probiotics (DSM probiotic products 1-6; 4 lb/ton of diet). Dietary treatments were fed for 44 d with pen and feeder weights collected on d 0, 11, 18, 25, 32, 39 and 44. Pigs fed Mecadox had increased (P0.05). Pigs fed DSM probiotic product 4 had greater (P0.05) ADG and ADFI compared to those fed Bioplus 2B. No difference in d 44 BW was observed among any DSM probiotic product relative to the control, but pigs fed Mecadox or Bioplus 2B had increased (P<0.05) d 44 BW compared to those fed the control diet. In conclusion, adding an antimicrobial (Mecadox) to the diet resulted in the best growth performance. Pigs fed a commercial probiotic and one of the experimental probiotics had intermediate performance compared with the control and Mecadox fed pigs

Epidemiology of Deltacoronaviruses (δ-CoV) and Gammacoronaviruses (γ-CoV) in Wild Birds in the United States

Porcine deltacoronavirus (&delta;-CoV) is the object of extensive research in several countries including the United States. In contrast, the epidemiology of &delta;-CoVs in wild birds in the US is largely unknown. Our aim was to comparatively assess the prevalence of &delta;- and &gamma;-CoVs in wild migratory terrestrial and aquatic birds in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin. A total of 1236 cloacal/fecal swabs collected during the period 2015&ndash;2018 were tested for &gamma;- and &delta;-CoVs using genus-specific reverse transcription-PCR assays. A total of 61 (4.99%) samples were &gamma;-CoV positive, with up to 29 positive samples per state. In contrast, only 14 samples were positive for &delta;-CoV (1.14%) with only 1&ndash;4 originating from the same state. Thus, unlike previous reports from Asia, &gamma;-CoVs are more prevalent than &delta;-CoVs in the US, suggesting that &delta;-CoVs may spread in birds with lower efficiency. This may indicate &delta;-CoV emerging status and incomplete adaptation to new host species limiting its spread. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial N gene revealed that the newly identified &delta;-CoV strains were most closely related to the HKU20 (wigeon) strain. Further studies are necessary to investigate the role of aquatic bird &delta;-CoVs in the epidemiology of &delta;-CoVs in swine and terrestrial birds

Novel Mammalian orthorubulavirus 5 Discovered as Accidental Cell Culture Contaminant

A distinct Russian Mammalian orthorubulavirus 5 (PIV5) was detected in cell culture exhibiting cytopathic effect and hypothesized to be contaminated by a scientist with respiratory symptoms. The identification of the divergent strain indicated a lack of knowledge on the diversity of PIV5 strains and calls for surveillance of global PIV5 strains