Risk assessment for Toxoplasma gondii in the Danish pig industry

The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is capable of infecting most mammals including man. In humans, toxoplasmosis is usually asymptomatic but may have serious consequences for pregnant women or immuno-compromised patients. Contact with infected cats and cat litter, contaminated soil and Infected meat are risk factors for toxoplasmosis. Although the prevalence of Toxoplasma in pig production has declined significantly dunng the past 30 years, it has recently been suggested that a large part of human cases of toxoplasmosis may be ascribed to meat, mcluding pork and pork products. Moreover, perinatal screening of pregnant women and infants for Toxoplasma has proven to be of limited value. This has raised the question of how to survey for Toxoplasma· in humans or meat? Therefore, the role of meat, including pigs and pork, as a risk factor for human toxoplasmosis was assessed by the Danish Meat Association . The release assessment showed that outdoor-reared pigs as well as sows and boars were at higher risk of infection with Toxoplasma. With respect to exposure, consumption of mildly cured pork products and inadequately heat-treated pork were associated with increased risk. Knowledge on elimination or survival of Toxoplasma in cured pork products is sparse, which is unsatisfactory given current trends toward lower salt content and lower cooking temperatures. It was concluded that, aside from consumption of raw pork, which is rare in Denmark and not recommended for other reasons, certain mildly cured ready-to-eat pork products, that have not been heat-treated, may constitute a risk for toxoplasmosis, if not frozen prior to manufacturing. Information on the effects of cunng on survival of Toxoplasma in meat is sparse and therefore deserves further research. However, most of the pork used for manufacturing in Denmark onginates from pigs raised indoors and for logistic reasons it is frozen prior to processing, thereby reducing the risk for human toxoplasmosis

The occurrence of S. enterica serotypes in animal feed, pigs, pork and man

In Denmark, national surveillance systems have been established with the aim of monitoring the level of salmonella infection in animal feed, pig herds and pork. The human infections are monitored at Statens Serum Institute. All Salmonella isolates identified are serotyped according to the Kauffmann-White scheme. The results of the surveillance allow a comparison of the serotypes occurring in the different levels

Surveillance and Control Program for Salmonella in Swine: The Danish Action Plan

The Danish national Salmonella surveillance and control program in swine, which has existed in its present form since January 1, 1995, is mandated by the Act of Zoonoses of December 21, 1994, and implements Paragraph I, Article 8, of the Zoonosis Directive 92/117/EEC. The objective of the program is to reduce the prevalence of Salmonella in swine herds as well as in pork, and represents a comprehensive effort by the swine industry and the veterinary authorities. Results from the first year the program has been in effect were reported by Emborg et al

Correlation between serological results from level 3 herds in the Danish Salmonella surveillance and control programme system and swab samples from carcasses from the same herd

One of the elements of the Danish Salmonella Surveillance and Control Programme is surveillance of slaughter pig herds. All herds delivering more than 100 slaughter pigs per year are included in the surveillance. At the slaughterhouses meat samples are collected randomly according to the legislation from the Danish Veterinary Service. The meat samples are analysed at The Danish Veterinary Laboratory for the presence of specific Salmonella antibodies by a indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the so-called mix-ELISA (I). The results of the analysis are registered in the Zoonosis data base owned by the Danish Ministry of Food. Agriculture and Fisheries. The results are registered under the herd specific Central Herd Register (CHR) number

Different ways of handling the bung (rectum) during pig slaughter dressing related to Salmonella sero-positivity in slaughtered pigs and the number of Salmonella positive meat samples

Some of the elements of the Danish Salmonella Surveillance and Control Programme are surveillance of slaughterpig herds and surveillance of the Salmonella prevalence in fresh pork. All herds delivering more than I 00 slaughter pigs per year are included in the surveillance. At the slaughterhouses meat samples are collected randomly according to the legislation from the Danish Veterinary Service. The meat samples are analysed at The Danish Veterinary Laboratory for the presence of specific Salmonella antibodies by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the so-called mixELISA. The results of the analysis are registered in the Zoonosis data base owned by the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. The results are registered under the herd specific Central Herd Register (CHR) number. Depending on the sero-prevalence during the previous three months the herds are assigned to one of three levels: Level I including the herds with no or very few reactors, Level 2 the herds with higher sero-prevalence, or Level 3 the herds with an unacceptable high sero-prevalence

Long-term risk of gastrointestinal cancers in persons with gastric or duodenal ulcers

Peptic ulcer predicts gastric cancer. It is controversial if peptic ulcers predict other gastrointestinal cancers, potentially related to Helicobacter pylori or shared lifestyle factors. We hypothesized that gastric and duodenal ulcers may have different impact on the risk of gastrointestinal cancers. In a nationwide cohort study using Danish medical databases 1994-2013, we quantified the risk of gastric and other gastrointestinal cancers among patients with duodenal ulcers (dominantly H. pylori-related) and gastric ulcers (dominantly lifestyle-related) compared with the general population. We started follow-up 1-year after ulcer diagnosis to avoid detection bias and calculated absolute risks of cancer and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs). We identified 54,565 patients with gastric ulcers and 38,576 patients with duodenal ulcers. Patient characteristics were similar in the two cohorts. The 1-5-year risk of any gastrointestinal cancer was slightly higher for gastric ulcers patients (2.1%) than for duodenal ulcers patients (2.0%), and SIRs were 1.38 (95% CI: 1.31-1.44) and 1.30 (95% CI: 1.23-1.37), respectively. The SIR of gastric cancer was higher among patients with gastric ulcer than duodenal ulcer (1.92 vs. 1.38), while the SIRs for other gastrointestinal cancers were similar (1.33 vs. 1.29). Compared with gastric ulcer patients, duodenal ulcer patients were at lower risk of smoking- and alcohol-related gastrointestinal cancers. The risk of nongastric gastrointestinal cancers is increased both for patients with gastric ulcers and with duodenal ulcers, but absolute risks are low. H. pylori may be less important for the development of nongastric gastrointestinal cancer than hypothesized

Tracing back multi-resistant Salmonella typhimurium DTI04 from pork at the slaughterhouse to a specific swine herd by strategical use of serology and culture

Multi-resistant Salmonella typhimurium DTI04 (DT104) was first isolated from Danish livestock in 1996. DTI 04 is now known as an important and emerging pathogen in many countries. In Denmark, multi-resistant Salmonella typhimurium DT 104 is officially declared an unwanted bacteria in any food. Consequently, when DT 104 is detected in pork at a Danish slaugtherhouse, all carcasses from the day of slaugther in question must be heat treated. In order to find DT I 04 infected swine herds, a mandatory tracing back procedure is performed by strategical use of serology and culture

The Danish surveillance of salmonella in pork

The Danish Salmonella surveillance programme consists of the following parts: (I) Monitoring of animal feed; (II) Monitoring of breeding and multiplying herds and of herds producing more than 100 slaughter pigs annually; (III) Monitoring of slaughterhouses, including surveillance of Salmonella in pork (Emborg et al., 1996). The surveillance of Salmonella in pork was initiated in the summer 1993, ordered by the Danish Veterinary Service