Project PathoPig—A practical approach to strengthen post mortem analyses and early detection of pig diseases and zoonoses

Post mortem examinations are important for early detection and diagnosis of animal diseases and zoonoses. Over the last ten years, the number of necropsies in livestock has decreased considerably in Switzerland. To counteract this decline, the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) launched a project in 2014 called PathoPig. The aim is to evaluate the significance of pathologic-anatomical examinations for early detection of pig diseases and to investigate the impact of the findings on the improvement of pig health. Pig producers can participate if at least one of the following criteria is fulfilled: high morbidity and/or high mortality, unusual clinical signs, recurrent problems of unknown aetiology resistant to therapy or increased use of antimicrobials. Accordingly, the veterinarian examines the herd, fills in a standardised anamnesis protocol and submits one to three pigs representing the health problem to a designated pathology laboratory. After post mortem examination, the veterinarian offers specific recommendations to the farmer. Three to six months later, the Swiss Pig Health Service (SPHS) follows up the success of the veterinary recommendations. In 2014, 371 farms submitted pigs for PathoPig. In 84% of these cases, a conclusive diagnosis was obtained. In 56% of the cases, gastrointestinal problems were determined, most often (44%) caused by pathogenic Escherichia coli. In more than 80% of the cases, the animal health status could be improved considerably after the veterinary consultation. Increased post mortem examinations allowed more specific therapeutic treatments and management recommendations. Additionally, an improvement of collaboration between diagnostic laboratories, veterinarians and producers was achieved, thereby strengthening disease awareness and early detection of pig diseases and zoonoses in Switzerland

Investigation of standardised and adapted inocula for biomethane potential tests

In biomethane potential (BMP) tests, different sources and origins of inocula might cause significant variations in the tests’ results, preventing from acquiring a harmonised and standardised evaluation of the different substrates. In this study, a method to produce standardised and storable inocula was elaborated. In anaerobic bioreactors, inoculum based on Dried Destined Grain Substrates (DDGS) pellets was initially produced as substrate under defined conditions. Freeze-drying was applied in the framework of this study as a long-term conservation method for the anaerobic inocula. In order to ensure a closed system with anaerobic conditions at all times, a test system was developed allowing accurate and representative mass-balance experiments. The test results demonstrated that inocula preservation and re-suspension in BMP tests is possible; the limit value of the expected methane yield of the positive and lyophilised DDGS-substrate- control, was reached. However, the lyophilized inoculum with DDGS as substrate showed a significant lower specific biogas production compared to the postive control. After the repeated addition of DDGS after 68 days of incubation, no lag phase was observed in biogas production in the lyophilized batch. In this case, a lower substrate degradation compared to the first step was observed. Therefore, further investigations are necessary to reduce the lag phase and to develop a two-stage BMP test in which the standardised and storable inoculum can be added at defined concentrations in capsule or tablet form

Project PathoPig—A practical approach to strengthen post mortem analyses and early detection of pig diseases and zoonoses

Post mortem examinations are important for early detection and diagnosis of animal diseases and zoonoses. Over the last ten years, the number of necropsies in livestock has decreased considerably in Switzerland. To counteract this decline, the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) launched a project in 2014 called PathoPig. The aim is to evaluate the significance of pathologic-anatomical examinations for early detection of pig diseases and to investigate the impact of the findings on the improvement of pig health. Pig producers can participate if at least one of the following criteria is fulfilled: high morbidity and/or high mortality, unusual clinical signs, recurrent problems of unknown aetiology resistant to therapy or increased use of antimicrobials. Accordingly, the veterinarian examines the herd, fills in a standardised anamnesis protocol and submits one to three pigs representing the health problem to a designated pathology laboratory. After post mortem examination, the veterinarian offers specific recommendations to the farmer. Three to six months later, the Swiss Pig Health Service (SPHS) follows up the success of the veterinary recommendations. In 2014, 371 farms submitted pigs for PathoPig. In 84% of these cases, a conclusive diagnosis was obtained. In 56% of the cases, gastrointestinal problems were determined, most often (44%) caused by pathogenic Escherichia coli. In more than 80% of the cases, the animal health status could be improved considerably after the veterinary consultation. Increased post mortem examinations allowed more specific therapeutic treatments and management recommendations. Additionally, an improvement of collaboration between diagnostic laboratories, veterinarians and producers was achieved, thereby strengthening disease awareness and early detection of pig diseases and zoonoses in Switzerland.</p