Abstract
BackgroundThere is poor understanding of most aspects of Clostridium perfringens type A as a possible cause of neonatal diarrhea in piglets, and the prevalence and types of C. perfringens present on Ontario swine farms is unknown. To study the prevalence of fecal C. perfringens and selected toxin genes, 48 Ontario swine farms were visited between August 2010 and May 2011, and 354 fecal samples were collected from suckling pigs, lactating sows, weanling pigs, grower-finisher pigs, and gestating sows, as well as from manure pits. The fecal samples were cultured quantitatively, and toxin genes were detected by real-time multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR).ResultsIn mixed multivariable linear analysis, log10C. perfringens in fecal samples from suckling pigs were higher than that of weanling pigs, grower-finisher pigs, and manure pit samples (P <0.05). In mixed multivariable logistic analysis, the C. perfringens isolates recovered from lactating sows (OR = 0.069, P <0.001), gestating sows (OR = 0.020, P <0.001), grower-finishers (OR = 0.017, P <0.001), and manure pits (OR = 0.11, P <0.001) were less likely to be positive for the consensus beta2 toxin gene cpb2 compared to the isolates from suckling pigs. The prevalence of cpb2 in the isolates recovered from weanlings did not differ significantly from suckling pigs. C. perfringens isolates that were positive for cpb2 were more likely to carry the atypical cpb2 gene (atyp-cpb2) (OR = 19, P <0.001) compared to isolates that were negative for cpb2. Multivariable analysis did not identify farm factors affecting the presence of consensus cpb2 and atyp-cpb2 genes.ConclusionsThis study provides baseline data on the prevalence of C. perfringens and associated toxin genes in healthy pigs at different stages of production on Ontario swine farms. The study suggests that if C. perfringens type A are involved in neonatal enteritis, there may be strains with specific characteristics that cannot be identified by the existing genotyping system.
Highlights
There is poor understanding of most aspects of Clostridium perfringens type A as a possible cause of neonatal diarrhea in piglets, and the prevalence and types of C. perfringens present on Ontario swine farms is unknown
A farm was considered positive for C. perfringens if cpa was detected in the isolate of at least one fecal sample, and a farm was considered positive for consensus cpb2 if it was detected in the C. perfringens isolate of at least one fecal sample
Clostridium perfringens type A is speculated to be an emerging pathogen associated with neonatal piglet diarrhea [6,7,8,9], not all prevalence studies conducted on infectious causes of piglet diarrhea have included C. perfringens type A in the analysis [6,10,11]
Summary
There is poor understanding of most aspects of Clostridium perfringens type A as a possible cause of neonatal diarrhea in piglets, and the prevalence and types of C. perfringens present on Ontario swine farms is unknown. Clostridium perfringens type A is considered by some to be one of the most common causes of diarrhea in neonatal pigs [1,2]. Clostridium perfringens are ubiquitous Gram-positive anaerobes that can be isolated from many environments, In the past decade, diagnosis of neonatal piglet diarrhea due to C. perfringens type A has increased, and has been associated with increased pre-weaning mortality [1]. The current method of diagnosis is based on isolation of large numbers of C. perfringens type A possessing the consensus CPB2 gene (cpb2) detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the feces or intestinal contents, and the exclusion of other known causes of neonatal diarrhea [3]. Most porcine isolates carry and express cpb2 [4]
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