Campylobacter species isolated from swine with lesions of proliferative enteritis.

Abstract

Campylobacter species were isolated from 93 (48.4%) out of 196 pigs in which proliferative enteritis (PE) was detected at an abattoir in Kagoshima City. Three species of Campylobacter were identified as Campylobacter sputorum ssp. mucosalis (CSM), Campylobacter hyointestinalis (CHI) and Campylobacter coli (CCO) on the basis of biochemical characteristics. From 51 specimens (54.9%) CSM was isolated, CHI was from 23 specimens (24.7%) and CCO was from seven specimens (7.5%). From nine specimens (9.6%) CSM and CHI were isolated simultaneously. Simultaneous isolation of CSM and CCO, and that of CHI and CCO were seen in one (1.1%) and two specimens (2.2%), respectively. Viable bacterial count per gram of affected mucosa ranged 104 to 108 CFU. More than 80% of the positive specimens were involved in the range of 106 to 108 CFU. The presence of four different serovars of CSM in addition to serovar A was suggested. Strains other than serovar A had narrow range of growth temperature around 37°C and their growth was inhibited by the presence of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride. Forty-five sera of pigs bred in three farms, where CSM and CHI were thought to be prevailing, were subjected to the agglutination test to determine antibody titers against CSM and CHI. Twenty-one pigs had high agglutinin titer of more than 1:80 against CSM. On the other hand, only 2 pigs had high titer against CHI.