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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2004

D. M. A. LO FO WONG ,
J. DAHL ,
A. WINGSTRAND ,
P. J. VAN DER WOLF ,
A. VON ALTROCK  and
B. M. THORBERG
D. M. A. LO FO WONG
Affiliation:
Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research, Bülowsvej 27, DK-1790 Copenhagen V, Denmark Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Groennegaardsvej 8, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
J. DAHL
Affiliation:
Danish Bacon and Meat Council, Axelborg, Axeltorv 3, DK-1609 Copenhagen V, Denmark
A. WINGSTRAND
Affiliation:
Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research, Bülowsvej 27, DK-1790 Copenhagen V, Denmark Danish Bacon and Meat Council, Axelborg, Axeltorv 3, DK-1609 Copenhagen V, Denmark
P. J. VAN DER WOLF
Affiliation:
Animal Health Service, P.O. Box 9, NL-7400 AA Deventer, The Netherlands
A. VON ALTROCK
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Bünteweg 2, D-30559, Hannover, Germany (formerly Free University of Berlin, Königsweg 69, D-14163, Berlin, Germany)
B. M. THORBERG
Affiliation:
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7070, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (formerly National Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 7073, S-75007 Uppsala, Sweden)
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Abstract

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Surveillance and control are important aspects of food safety assurance strategies at the pre-harvest level of pork production. Prior to implementation of a Salmonella surveillance and control programme, it is important to have knowledge on the dynamics and epidemiology of Salmonella infections in pig herds. For this purpose, 17 finishing pig herds initially classified as seropositive and 15 as seronegative, were followed for a 2-year period through serological and bacteriological sampling. The study included 10 herds from Denmark, 13 from The Netherlands, 4 from Germany and 5 from Sweden and was performed between October 1996 and May 1999. The Salmonella status of finishing pig herds was determined by an initial blood sampling of approximately 50 finishing pigs close to market weight per herd. The development of the Salmonella status of the selected herds was assessed at seven subsequent sampling rounds of 25 blood samples from finishing pigs, 25 blood samples from grower pigs and 10 pen faecal samples each, approximately 3 months apart. The odds for testing finishers seropositive, given that growers were found seropositive previously were 10 times higher than if growers were seronegative (OR 10·0, 95% CI 3·2–32·8). When Salmonella was isolated from pen faecal samples, the herd was more likely to be classified seropositive in the same sampling round, compared to no Salmonella being detected (OR 4·0, 95% CI 1·1–14·6). The stability of an initially allocated Salmonella status was found to vary noticeably with time, apparently irrespective of a seropositive or seronegative classification at onset of the study. Given the measured dynamics in the occurrence of Salmonella in pig herds, regular testing is necessary to enable producers, advisors and authorities to react to sudden increases in the Salmonella prevalence in single herds or at a national level.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 132 , Issue 5 , October 2004 , pp. 903 - 914
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press