Geldhof, Peter

Vandekerckhove, Elise

Ghent University Academic Bibliography

Novel	  insights	  in	  the	  prevalence	  of	  Ascaris	  suum	  in	  piglets	  	  	  Introduction	  Ascaris	  suum	  is	  a	  widespread	  parasitic	  nematode	  that	  causes	  infection	  in	  fattening	  pigs.	  The	  clinical	  symptoms	  are	  mostly	  vague	  and	  unspecific.	  	  Based	  on	  the	  high	  prevalence	  of	   infections	  with	  A.	  suum	  observed	  in	  fattening	  pigs,	  the	  questions	   arise	   whether	   exposure	   to	   A.	   suum	  mainly	   occurs	   in	   the	   fattening	   units	   or	  earlier	  on	  in	  farrowing	  and	  nursery	  units	  and	  whether	  serology	  could	  be	  used	  to	  detect	  exposure	   to	   A.	   suum	   in	   piglets.	   To	   achieve	   this,	   3	   different	   serological	   tests	   were	  evaluated	  on	  serum	  samples	  from	  artificially	  infected	  piglets.	  Materials	  and	  methods	  To	   address	   this	   question	   an	   artificial	   infection	   of	   seronegative	   piglets	   took	   place.	   3-­‐‑week-­‐‑old	   piglets	   were	   randomly	   divided	   into	   4	   groups	   of	   10	   animals	   and	   received	   a	  daily	   infection	   of	   10,	   100	   and	   500	   eggs/day	   during	   7	   consecutive	   weeks.	   One	   group	  served	   as	   a	   negative	   control	   group.	   Blood	  was	   collected	   on	   a	  weekly	   base.	   Sera	  were	  individually	  analysed	  on	   three	  different	  ELISA’s	  based	  on	   the	   recognition	  of	   several	  A.	  suum	   antigens:	  Haemoglobin	  Ag	   purified	   from	   the	   pseudocoelomic	   fluid	   from	   adult	  A.	  suum	   worms,	   As-­‐‑12	   Ag	   present	   on	   the	   surface	   of	   the	   infective	   L3	   larvae	   and	   the	  complete	  extract	  of	  L3	  larvae	  migrating	  through	  the	  lungs.	  Results	  A	  clear	  seroconversion	  was	  visible	  on	  the	  ELISA	  test	  using	  complete	  homogenate	  of	  the	  lung	   stage	   larvae,	  whereas	   no	   to	   low	   seroconversion	  was	   detectable	  with	   the	   Serasca	  test	   and	   the	   As-­‐‑12	   based	   ELISA.	   Serological	   results	   obtained	   in	   piglets	   during	   the	  nursery	  period	  indicated	  that	  at	  the	  time	  of	  weaning	  (week	  1)	  some	  piglets	  were	  already	  highly	   positive	   for	   anti-­‐‑Ascaris	   antibodies	   and	   that	   these	   antibody	   levels	   correlated	  significantly	   with	   anti-­‐‑Ascaris	   antibody	   levels	   in	   the	   respective	   sows,	   suggesting	  maternal	   transfer.	   This	   was	   further	   supported	   by	   the	   fact	   that	   anti-­‐‑Ascaris	   antibody	  levels	  in	  the	  piglets	  further	  dropped	  till	  5	  weeks	  post	  weaning	  after	  which	  the	  animals	  remained	  seronegative.	  Further	  analysis	  of	  anti-­‐‑Ascaris	  antibody	  levels	  in	  6	  sows	  and	  4	  of	   their	  piglets	   (at	   the	   time	  of	  weaning)	  showed	   that	   the	  antibody	   levels	   in	   the	  piglets	  correlated	   significantly	   with	   the	   levels	   in	   their	   respective	   sows,	   suggesting	   the	  protective	   nature	   of	   this	   maternal	   immunity.	   The	   mechanism	   and	   duration	   of	   the	  maternal	  immunity	  and	  the	  potential	  implications	  it	  has	  on	  the	  deworming	  strategies	  of	  both	  sows	  and	  piglets	  are	  currently	  being	  further	  investigated.	  Finally,	  This	  study	  shows	  that	  an	  ELISA	  test	  based	  on	  the	  recognition	  of	  migrating	  L3	  larvae	  can	  be	  used	  as	  a	  tool	  to	  detect	  an	  early	  A.	  suum	  infection	  in	  piglets.	  In	  a	  next	  phase	  of	  this	  study	  it	  is	  necessary	  to	  determine	  the	  sensitivity	  and	  specificity	  of	  this	  test	  more	  accurately	  in	  order	  to	  obtain	  a	  cut-­‐‑off	  value.	  	  

Novel insights in the prevalence of Ascaris suum in piglets

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/7279001/file/7279074

Novel insights in the prevalence of Ascaris suum in piglets

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Ghent University Academic Bibliography