Campylobacter spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, and Salmonella enterica and their simultaneous occurrence in German fattening pig herds and their environment.

Nathues, Christina; Grüning, P.; Fruth, A.; Verspohl, J.; Blaha, T.; Kreienbrock, L.; Merle, R. (2013). Campylobacter spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, and Salmonella enterica and their simultaneous occurrence in German fattening pig herds and their environment. Journal of food protection, 76(10), pp. 1704-1711. International Association for Food Protection 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-13-076

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Campylobacter spp., Salmonella enterica, and Yersinia enterocolitica are common causes of foodborne infections in humans with pork as a potential source. Monitoring programs at farm level are, to date, only implemented for S. enterica, while epidemiological knowledge of the other two pathogens is still lacking. This study aimed to assess the pathogen load (in the pigs' environment) in fattening pig herds, their simultaneous occurrence, and the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. and Y. enterocolitica in herds in different Salmonella risk categories. In 50 fattening pig herds in northern Germany, four pooled fecal samples and 10 swab samples from the pigs' direct environment (pen walls, nipple drinkers), indirect environment (hallways, drive boards), and flies and rodent droppings were collected from each herd and submitted for cultural examination. Campylobacter spp. were detected in 38.1% of fecal, 32.7% of direct environment, 5.3% of indirect environment, and 4.6% of flies/pests samples collected, and Y. enterocolitica in 17.1, 8.1, 1.2, and 3.1% and S. enterica in 11.2, 7.7, 4.1, and 1.5%, respectively. For Campylobacter spp., Y. enterocolitica, and S. enterica, 80, 48, and 32% of herds were positive, respectively; 22 herds were positive for both Campylobacter spp. and Y. enterocolitica, 12 for Campylobacter spp. and S. enterica, and 7 for Y. enterocolitica and S. enterica. There was no significant association between the pathogens at herd level. Campylobacter spp. and Y. enterocolitica were found more often in samples from the low Salmonella risk category (odds ratio, 0.51; confidence interval, 0.36 to 0.73, and 0.3, 0.17 to 0.57), and this was also the case for Y. enterocolitica at herd level (odds ratio, 0.08; confidence interval, 0.02 to 0.3). This study provides evidence that the pigs' environment should be accounted for when implementing control measures on farms against Campylobacter spp. and Y. enterocolitica. An extrapolation from the current Salmonella monitoring to the other two pathogens does not seem feasible.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	05 Veterinary Medicine > Research Foci > Veterinary Public Health / Herd Health Management 05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Veterinary Public Health Institute 05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)
UniBE Contributor:	Nathues, Christina
Subjects:	600 Technology > 630 Agriculture
ISSN:	0362-028X
Publisher:	International Association for Food Protection
Language:	English
Submitter:	Susanne Portner
Date Deposited:	08 Aug 2014 12:01
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:30
Publisher DOI:	10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-13-076
PubMed ID:	24112569
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/44911