Arnold, M; Swam, H; Crienen, A; Schüpbach-Regula, G; von Berg, S; Nathues, H (2023). Prevalence and risk factors of Brachyspira spp. in pig herds with a history of diarrhoea in six European countries. Preventive veterinary medicine, 213(105862), p. 105862. Elsevier 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.105862
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Swine dysentery and porcine intestinal spirochaetosis caused by Brachyspira (B.) hyodysenteriae and B. pilosicoli, respectively, are important diseases in swine production worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of both pathogens in farms with a history of diarrhoea within the last 12 months in Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and United Kingdom. In addition, risk factors for their prevalence and correlations between presence of different Brachyspira spp. and Lawsonia intracellularis were investigated. Therefore, faecal samples of 6355 nursery to finishing pigs out of 144 herds were sampled in 2017/2018 during a prevalence study on Lawsonia intracellularis, followed by polymerase chain reaction analysis for Brachyspira spp. detection. Herd prevalence differed significantly between countries, from 4.2% to 45.8% for B. hyodysenteriae and 8.3-87.5% for B. pilosicoli, respectively (p < 0.01). For the within-herd prevalence (in positive herds), these values ranged from 2.2% to 27.0% for B. hyodysenteriae and 3.3-50.8% for B. pilosicoli. Mixed infections occurred in 34.1% and 58.7% of B. hyodysenteriae positive samples with Lawsonia intracellularis or B. pilosicoli, respectively. In 43.2% of B. pilosicoli positive samples, Lawsonia intracellularis was detected simultaneously. Overall, nursery pigs were significantly less often positive for one of the pathogens than growing or finishing pigs (p < 0.001). The absence of gastrointestinal problems like diarrhoea, routine use of antimicrobials and well performed biosecurity measures were some of the factors associated with lower detection rate of Brachyspira spp. Surprisingly, deworming of different age categories also showed associations with the detection of Brachyspira spp. which, however, were not always equally directed, and therefore require further investigations. The only risk factor significant for both Brachyspira spp. was the median number of ≥ 30 nursery pigs per pen after weaning, compared to smaller group sizes. Both pathogens were detected with varying frequency between the six European countries. This should be considered in the probability of disease and in case of transnational transport, to prevent spread of pathogens. In addition, the frequent presence of mixed infections in some countries should be taken into account in diagnostics. The most important protective factors against Brachyspira spp. presence on farm are biosecurity measures, while potential new factors such as deworming still require further investigation.
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