Herd-level risk factors influencing serological Yersinia prevalence in fattening pig herds

Yersiniosis is the third most frequent zoonosis reported in the European Union with pork as an important source. Identifying risk factors in swine production which may decrease the risk of pork production contamination during pre-harvest is an important step prior to controlling Yersinia spp.. Therefore, management strategies and production processes which might be associated with fattening pigs testing seropositive for pathogenic Yersinia spp. were investigated on 80 fattening pig farms. Although more than 70 farm characteristics were included in the risk assessment, there were only a few which seemed to be connected with serological prevalence: housing on a fully slatted floor and the use of municipal water were observed in herds with low serological Yersinia prevalence, whereas recurring health problems and a low daily weight gain compared to the mean of the herds included in the study were identified more often in herds with a high prevalence

Case report: Urolithiasis, nephrolithiasis and a urinary bladder malformation in a seven-month-old alpaca cria

Urolithiasis is a common condition in male small ruminants where predisposing factors have been identified. Occasionally, urolithiasis is diagnosed in South American camelids (SACs). However, nephrolithiasis is rarely diagnosed in ruminants. To our knowledge, this is the first report focusing on a combined appearance of nephrolithiasis and urolithiasis in an alpaca cria. A 7-month-old alpaca cria suffering from impaired urinary flow was presented for examination. On admission, the alpaca had a wet prepuce and showed a standing posture with a wide-based stance. Ultrasonographic examination of the abdomen showed a distended bladder. Clinical chemistry revealed azotemia and hypophosphatemia. After the first examination, repeated urination was observed. Conservative therapy using antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic drugs was started with the suspected diagnosis of urinary calculus. During the first 24 h, plasma concentrations of creatinine and urea decreased, but increased again during the following days. During the second day after admission, urination was not observed for 16 h while the concentration of urea and creatinine further increased. Therefore, the animal was euthanized due to financial concerns of the owner. Necropsy revealed that calculi were located in the left kidney as well as in the urethra. In addition, the animal exhibited uroperitoneum. The urinary bladder was intact, moderately distended with urine and showed a malformation, which was covered with a translucent mucosal membrane. Histologic examination revealed that this malformation was a bladder diverticulum. The extent to which the unilateral nephroliths affected the general condition and renal function of the animal is unclear, since the uroliths also cause azotemia, and abdominal pain. Further studies are needed for a better understanding of obstructive urinary disease in SACs

Prevalence of Campy/obacter spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica in Fattening Pig Herds in Lower Saxony, Germany

The results of a study on the occurrence of two bacteria that cause zoonoses, Campylobacter spp. and Yersmia enterocolilica were presented and the results of bacteriological and serological methods of detection were compared. The study was carried out on 30 fattening herds in Lower Saxony, Germany Bacteriological findings of Campylobacter spp. in the faeces indicated that 69.7% of the fattening pigs were positive, but 81 .2% tested positive serologically. All herds tested here were both bacteriologically and serologically positive for Campylobacter spp. Furthermore, only 8.4 % tested pos1t1ve for Yersinia enterocolitica in the faecal samples, but 66.8 % of the animals were serologically positive for that bacterium. At herd level 43.3 % of the herds tested bactenologically positive for Yersinia enterocolitica, whereas serological testing showed that 83.3 % of the units had one or more reacting animal

Isolation of Salmonella enterica in seropositive classified finishing pig herds

The aim of this study was to assess the probability of detecting Salmonella from pen faecal samples in seropositive classified finishing pig herds. The study involved 77 herds from Denmark (20), the Netherlands (20), Greece (17) and Germany (20). The serological herd status was determined by the blood- sampling of 50 finishing pigs. Bacteriological sampling was performed by 20 pen faecal samples per herd. Over-all, 47 % of the blood samples had an OD% larger than 10 and 23 % larger than 40. Salmonella was isolated from 135 (9.3 %) pen faecal samples in 32 herds (42 %). Twenty-eight of these herds (87.5 %) had a within-herd seroprevalence larger than 50% at sample cut-off OD%\u3e10. A correlation coefficient of 0.62 was found between the proportion of culture positive- and seropositive samples in a herd at cut-off OD % \u3e 10 and of 0.58 at cut-off OD % \u3e 40. Due to the low sensitivity of culture methods, apparent ‘false positive’ serological results may well represent real infections not detected by bacteriological testing. In this study, there was an increasing probability of recovering Salmonella with increasing within-herd seroprevalence

Case report: Urolithiasis, nephrolithiasis and a urinary bladder malformation in a seven-month-old alpaca cria

Urolithiasis is a common condition in male small ruminants where predisposing factors have been identified. Occasionally, urolithiasis is diagnosed in South American camelids (SACs). However, nephrolithiasis is rarely diagnosed in ruminants. To our knowledge, this is the first report focusing on a combined appearance of nephrolithiasis and urolithiasis in an alpaca cria. A 7-month-old alpaca cria suffering from impaired urinary flow was presented for examination. On admission, the alpaca had a wet prepuce and showed a standing posture with a wide-based stance. Ultrasonographic examination of the abdomen showed a distended bladder. Clinical chemistry revealed azotemia and hypophosphatemia. After the first examination, repeated urination was observed. Conservative therapy using antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic drugs was started with the suspected diagnosis of urinary calculus. During the first 24 h, plasma concentrations of creatinine and urea decreased, but increased again during the following days. During the second day after admission, urination was not observed for 16 h while the concentration of urea and creatinine further increased. Therefore, the animal was euthanized due to financial concerns of the owner. Necropsy revealed that calculi were located in the left kidney as well as in the urethra. In addition, the animal exhibited uroperitoneum. The urinary bladder was intact, moderately distended with urine and showed a malformation, which was covered with a translucent mucosal membrane. Histologic examination revealed that this malformation was a bladder diverticulum. The extent to which the unilateral nephroliths affected the general condition and renal function of the animal is unclear, since the uroliths also cause azotemia, and abdominal pain. Further studies are needed for a better understanding of obstructive urinary disease in SACs

Calcinosis in Alpaca Crias (Vicugna pacos) Due to Vitamin D Intoxication—Clinical, Laboratory and Pathological Findings with a Focus on Kidney Function

Alpacas kept in Central Europe are often deficient in vitamin D3, which is supplemented orally or by injection by the owners or veterinarians. Vitamin D3 can be specified in two different units (IU and µg), which differ by a factor of 40. By mixing up these units, an overdosage can be induced. In this study, three alpaca crias were examined after vitamin D3 intoxication, with particular reference to kidney function. All three animals developed non-specific clinical alterations 1–2 weeks after a vitamin D3 overdose of approximately 40 times. Plasma of the animals revealed several alterations. The main findings were severe azotemia, hypercalcemia and hyperphosphatemia, 15 days after treatment. Kidney function analysis (endogenous creatinine clearance) in two of the crias revealed severe glomerular damage. All crias died despite intensive treatment within 23 days after vitamin D3 treatment. Necropsy revealed calcification in different organs, mainly the kidneys, lungs and liver. Since nine other crias in the same group were treated with comparable doses of vitamin D3 and no clinical signs were observed in these animals, it is concluded that individual animals show different levels of sensitivity to vitamin D3

A European longitudinal study in Salmonella seronegative-and seropositive classified finishing pig herds

A study was performed to assess the stability of an assigned Salmonella status of finishing pig herds over time, seasonal variation in the incidence of herd infections, the herd incidence of Salmonella infections from the grower to the finisher production stage and the correlation between serological and bacteriological herd classification

Results of the German Investigation in the EU-Project "Salmonella in Pork (Salinpork)": Investigations on farms

The aim of the investigation was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella in different herds and to discover risk factors for the introduction of Salmonella onto the farms. In the 100 herds investigated, 28.3% of the fattening herds N=60), 50.0% of the breeding herds (N=20), and 15.0 % of the farrow-to-feeder herds (N=20) were classified serologically as Salmonella positive.</p

Herd-level risk factors influencing serological Yersinia prevalence in fattening pig herds

Yersiniosis is the third most frequent zoonosis reported in the European Union with pork as an important source. Identifying risk factors in swine production which may decrease the risk of pork production contamination during pre-harvest is an important step prior to controlling Yersinia spp.. Therefore, management strategies and production processes which might be associated with fattening pigs testing seropositive for pathogenic Yersinia spp. were investigated on 80 fattening pig farms. Although more than 70 farm characteristics were included in the risk assessment, there were only a few which seemed to be connected with serological prevalence: housing on a fully slatted floor and the use of municipal water were observed in herds with low serological Yersinia prevalence, whereas recurring health problems and a low daily weight gain compared to the mean of the herds included in the study were identified more often in herds with a high prevalence.</p