Longitudinal Study of Salmonella Dispersion and the Role of Environmental Contamination in Commercial Swine Production Systems

Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2009 | No Comments

This study investigated the roles of various environmental sources, such as truck-washing systems, waste processing
lagoons, and other sources, as potential contributors to the exposure and dissemination of Salmonella in commercial swine production systems. Four cohorts of nursery age swine herds which originated from distinct farm flows were selected. In addition, cross-sectional sampling of four truck wash stations selected based on the types of disinfectants and sources of water used for sanitizing trucks were tested. Salmonella isolates were recovered from pigs (feces, cecal contents, and mesenteric lymph nodes) and environmental sources (barn floor, lagoon, barn flush, trucks, and holding pens). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and genotyping were conducted using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion and amplified fragment length polymorphism, respectively. Salmonella prevalence significantly increased with age from late nursery to slaughter for all of the cohorts (P
0.007). In two of three instances, all three pig holding pens (lairage) sampled at processing were Salmonella positive. The predominant antibiotypes for all sources included ACSSuT (51.8%), SSuT (16.8%), T (6%), and pansusceptible (7.4%). For the isolates obtained at the farms, the ACSSuT phenotype was 5.6 times more likely to be found in the animals than in the environment (95% confidence interval, 4.4 to 7.2 times).
Serogroup B was the most common serogroup (79%), followed by serogroup E (10.4%). Despite the fact that the four production flows were independent, 1 of the 11 genotypic clusters (cluster A1) was commonly detected in any type of sample regardless of its origin. Five of the genotypic clusters (clusters A3, A4, A5, A6, and A7) contained isolates that originated from trucks and lairage swabs and also from cecal contents and/or mesenteric lymph nodes. More interestingly, genotypic clusters A3, A4, and A6 (but not clusters A5 and A7) were not detected on the farms. They originated from the trucks and lairage swabs and then were identified from the cecal contents and/or mesenteric lymph nodes. These findings underscore the significance of various environmental factors, including inadequate truck-washing systems, and emphasize the role of lairage contamination by Salmonella that has food safety significance.

For more information the full article can be found at http://aem.asm.org/content/by/year

Effect of xylanase supplementation of diets containing wheat distiller’s dried grains with solubles on energy, amino acid and phosphorus digestibility and growth performance of grower-finisher pigs

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The differential response of supplementary xylanase to wheat versus wheat DDGS diets indicates that the specific xylanase activity used in the present study matches the arabinoxylans in wheat, but not in the wheat DDGS. As a note of caution, the digestible lysine content of wheat DDGS from an oldstyle ethanol plant that was studied in the present study may not reflect wheat DDGS produced in new generation ethanol plants. Further studies are required to
assess the impact of improved DDGS production methods on nutrient digestibility of wheat DDGS in swine, to improve nutrient digestibility in pigs fed diets containing wheat DDGS, or to identify factors associated with reduced nutrient digestibility of wheat DDGS.

Canada Regroups After COOL

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The Canadian hog industry has faced many challenges in recent years. The trends that continue to unfold will surely affect the supply of pigs, market hogs and pork that cross the U.S. border over the next year or so. As we take a closer look at pricing, margins and developments in the Canadian market, unfortunately, one of the biggest developments that must be addressed is mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL). Looking ahead, it can be expected
that Canadian hog inventories will continue to decline through 2009, although at a slower pace. Based on grain and hog price forecasts, Canadian hog producers might be in the black this spring and summer, but not by much. Margins will dip back into the red in the fall.

Written Euthanasia Protocols Required

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 Jim Moody, vice president of marketing and finishing at The Hanor Company, Spring Green, WI, and Michelle Jens, DVM and director of sow health at Audubon- Manning Veterinary Clinic (AMVC) Management Services, Audubon, LA, addressed the Swine Housing and Transport Forum held on June 2, in Des Moines. They stated that straightforward guidelines for euthanasia must be drafted into a farm protocol, including the training necessary to ensure it is accomplished effectively. Some key considerations in writing a euthanasia protocol, including the method of choice, are:

• Risk to human safety — The chosen method should not put producers/ employees at risk. “Safety is very important,” Moody emphasizes. “Over the years, I have seen people who have accidentally shot themselves while using a bolt gun and I’ve seen people who have accidentally electrocuted themselves. Training is very important.”
• Skill required — A critical part of the training is learning the landmarks for the most effective application of the captive bolt or other methods. Jens reminds that these landmarks are different based on the size and shape of the animal (See Figure 1). Especially for mature sows and boars, the shape of the head and face (dish, flat, bulge) affects the thickness of the skull bones and the size of the sinus cavity, which must be penetrated to reach the brain.
• Aesthetics for the observer and the operator — “There is nothing about euthanizing an animal that is pleasant, but there are some techniques that are better than others,” Moody continues. “Work with your people to make sure they are comfortable with what they are doing. If they are not, find someone else or find an acceptable alternative for euthanizing a pig.”
• Understand the limitations of the method — “Some techniques require a two-step process. I try to stay away from those,” Moody says. With those methods, the animal is rendered unconscious, requiring a second step to complete the euthanasia process. C. Scanlon Daniels, DVM with Circle H Headquarters, LLC, Dalhart, TX, adds: “Some people commonly refer to captive bolt guns as ‘stun guns’ The thing about stunning an animal is the stunning is what causes the insensibility or loss of consciousness. Stunning may or may not be permanent, so when we talk about some captive bolt guns, the length of the bolt and how well that captive bolt gun is maintained is important. “Some captive bolt guns may only cause stunning, where if the animal is left, it may regain consciousness. The other point, of course, is that stunning or temporary insensibility must be followed up with a secondary step, such as bleeding out or pithing in order to cause death.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       • Cost — From a practical standpoint, the cost of various options must be considered. Moody notes. The final and critical step in the euthanasia process is determining if the process was successful — confirmation of death. “We need to make sure we and our employees are trained to distinguish whether a pig is dead or alive,” Moody states.

Effects of management, environmental and temporal factors on mortality and feed consumption in integrated swine fattening farms

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The aim this study is to assess the effects of environmental, management, housing and temporal factors on two production parameters that impact the costs in all-in all-out swine fattening systems: mortality and feed consumed per marketed hog. The study also aims to estimate the contribution of the finishing herd and batch to the total variability of mortality and feed consumed per marketed hog. The study, conducted under ‘real field’ conditions, confirmed the negative effect of non-pelleted feed on average feed intake per marketed hog. The considerable effect of particular origin farms on mortality risk suggest including this data on further research. A high level of care provided by the farmers to the pigs contributed to reduce the risk of mortality. Both mortality and feed performance were influenced by the season and the year but the effect of the year on feed intake was modified by the average final weight of the batch and its level of mortality. Our results suggest that a constant effect of ‘the farm itself’ on mortality would be small or non-existent. On the other hand, by investigating and improving permanent farm characteristics a substantial profit is expected in the long run as a result of lower feed costs. However management factors at the individual batch level had the greatest impact on mortality and feed intake in all-in-all-out fattening farms. Also, uncertainty about mortality and feed intake tended to be higher in cold template periods than in other months. 

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Associations of the variation in the porcine myogenin gene with muscle fibre characteristics, lean meat production and meat quality traits

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Pig breeding is aimed at improving lean meat production ability as well as meat quality, and muscle fibre characteristics may be important for enhancing these traits. Therefore, new molecular markers have been demanded for selecting lean meat production ability and meat quality in live animals. Myogenin belongs to the MyoD gene family, and is a candidate gene responsible for muscle fibre characteristics. We identified a new single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) site in the 5′ upstream region of the myogenin gene (nucleotides C and T). A total of 252 pigs of three breeds were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism using BspCNI. Additionally, they were genotyped for the previously detected MspI site in the 3¢-flanking region (alleles A and B). The CCBB diplotype had the highest frequency over breeds, followed by TCBB and CCAB. The other diplotypes were not found in studied pigs. Association analysis performed for the markers found that the TCBB diplotype has desirable effects on the total number of fibres (p < 0.002), fibre cross-sectional area (p < 0.06), and loin eye area (p < 0.001) than the other diplotypes. Moreover, the diplotype had the highest muscle pH value (p < 0.07) and all meat quality traits were near the upper limit of the normal range as a reddish pink, firm and non-exudative (RFN) pork. Therefore, we suggest that selection for the myogenin diplotypes could improve total muscle fibre number, size and lean meat production ability with good meat quality.

For more information the full article can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1439-0388/issues

Could manure heat and power farms?

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ARS engineers at the ARS Coastal Plains Soil, Water and Plant Research Center in South Carolina are studying how to use a technique called wet gasification to turn wet manure slurry into energy-rich gases and produce water. The ARS team developed a patented cost-benefit model of a wet gasification technology to calculate estimated returns, and concluded that liquid swine wastes can generate a net energy potential comparable to brown coal. The team is also investigating methods for producing a type of charcoal – called green coal – from manure. Green coal can be burned on the farm for energy or transported offsite to coal plants for fuel. It can also be added to the soil, a practice that would reduce greenhouse gases by permanently sequestering carbon in the soil in the form of the green coal.

Medium Term Outlook for Canadian Agriculture International and Domestic Markets

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The purpose of this document is to describe the features of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Medium Term Outlook for Canadian Agriculture covering the period 2008 to 2018. The outlook is an attempt to outline a plausible future of the international and domestic agri-food sectors. It serves as a benchmark for discussion and scenario analysis.
The outlook makes specific assumptions and outlines their implications. Since it assumes that policies remain unchanged from existing legislation, the outlook is not a forecast of future events. In particular there are no assumptions made regarding the outcome of the Doha round of trade negotiations. Finally, it is assumed that there will be no significant animal disease outbreaks or unusual climatic conditions over the period of the outlook. The outlook was produced with two econometric models of agricultural markets based upon information available in November 2008.
The AGLINK/COSIMO model of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was used to produce the international outlook and the AAFC Food and Agriculture Regional Model (FARM) was used for the national outlook. The medium term assumptions used and published by the OECD/FAO in the Agricultural Outlook 2008-2017 are by in large maintained in the AAFC’s outlook but updated to reflect short term price forecasts produced and released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in November 2008. The November 2008 macroeconomic forecast published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was
also incorporated in the outlook and in particular a 32% reduction in the crude oil price in 2009. AAFC assumed that 3 years will be necessary before the crude oil price returns to the level used in the OECD/FAO medium term outlook. The outlook for crop year 2008-09 and 2009-10 may not coincide with the forecast published in AAFC January Bi-Weekly Bulletin because this publication takes into account more recent information. The Canadian macro-economic forecasts for 2008 to 2013 are from the Conference Board of Canada outlook published in December 2008 except for the crude oil price and the exchange rate in 2009, 2010 and 2011 which reflects the IMF outlook. The average year-toyear percentage change over that period is used for the remainder of the outlook period for each macro-economic variables used in FARM.

Pig-bitin' mad

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Dynamics of virus excretion via different routes in pigs experimentally infected with classical swine fever virus strains of high, moderate or low virulence

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This study provides quantitative data on excretion of CSFV over time from pigs infected with a highly, moderately or low virulent strain. This study highlights the crucial role chronically infected pigs may play in the transmission of CSFV. Furthermore, it demonstrates the importance of discriminating between strains and the clinical appearance of infection when using excretion data for modelling.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03781135