1. Seroprevalence of enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. in pig batches at slaughter.
- Author
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Vanantwerpen G, Van Damme I, De Zutter L, and Houf K
- Subjects
- Abattoirs, Animals, Belgium epidemiology, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay veterinary, Prevalence, Seroepidemiologic Studies, Swine, Swine Diseases microbiology, Yersinia Infections epidemiology, Yersinia Infections microbiology, Swine Diseases epidemiology, Yersinia Infections veterinary, Yersinia enterocolitica isolation & purification
- Abstract
Enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. are one of the main causes of foodborne bacterial infections in Europe. Slaughter pigs are the main reservoir and carcasses are contaminated during a sub-optimal hygienically slaughtering-process. Serology is potentially an easy option to test for the Yersinia-status of the pig (batches) before slaughter. A study of the variation in activity values (OD%) of Yersinia spp. in pigs and pig batches when applying a serological test were therefore conducted. In this study, pieces of the diaphragm of 7047 pigs, originating from 100 farms, were collected and meat juice was gathered, where after an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Pigtype Yopscreen (Labor Diagnostik Leipzig, Qiagen, Leipzig, Germany) was performed. The results were defined positive if the activity values exceeded the proposed cut-off value of 30 OD%. Results at pig level displayed a bimodal-shaped distribution with modes at 0-10% (n=879) and 50-60% (n=667). The average OD% was 51% and 66% of the animals tested positive. The within-batch seroprevalence ranged from 0 to 100% and also showed a bimodal distribution with modes at 0% (n=7) and 85-90% (n=16). On 7 farms, no single seropositive animal was present and in 22 farms, the mean OD% was below 30%. Based on the results obtained at slaughter, 66% of the pigs had contact with enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. at farm level. The latter occurred in at least 93% of the farms indicating that most farms are harboring enteropathogenic Yersinia spp., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2014
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