No abstract

-Although poultry is recognized as the major source of food-poisoning caused by Salmonella, pork also contributes to human infections. This study was therefore undertaken in order to develop a reliable serological method for the evaluation of the Salmonella status of piglets. A complete ELISA was performed using lipopolysaccharides of Salmonella Typhimurium, Anatum, Hadar and Infantis because these serovars were representative of the serogroups isolated from 30 contaminated fattening farms. S. Enteritidis was also added because of its importance in human infection and to include the O : 9 antigen. This method potentially detects 100% of infected pigs. A significant correlation was found between this serological method and the bacteriological data from mesenteric lymph nodes (p = 0.01). In addition, both sensitivity and specificity were high (97% and 94% respectively). The ELISA test was therefore used in a cross-sectional study on 4 farms to evaluate when pigs became contaminated: seropositive pigs were only found for the 20 week old finishing pigs. The antibody response to Salmonella in piglets was also investigated: maternal antibodies persisted until 7 weeks of age and post-Salmonella contamination seroconversion was detected from 8 weeks of age onwards.ELISA / Salmonella / pig / epidemiology Résumé -Mise au point d'une méthode ELISA complète basée sur des lipopolysaccharides de plusieurs sérogroupes permettant de détecter tous les porcs infectés par des salmonelles. Bien que la volaille soit la principale source d'intoxication alimentaire par les salmonelles, le porc contribue aussi à la contamination humaine. Cette étude a été menée pour mettre au point une technique sérologique permettant d'évaluer le statut infectieux des porcelets vis-à-vis des salmonelles. Une technique ELISA dite complète a été élaborée avec des lipopolysaccharides de Salmonella Typhimurium, Anatum, Hadar et Infantis, sérovars représentatifs des sérogroupes isolés dans 30 élevages engraisseurs contaminés. S. Enteritidis a été ajoutée en raison de son importance dans les infections humaines et afin d'inclure l'antigène O : 9. Cette méthode permet de dépister potentiellement 100 % Vet. Res. 31 (2000) [481][482][483][484][485][486][487][488][489][490] 481

-The aim of this study is to assess the risk of contamination by Salmonella Typhimurium of pigs by nose-to-nose contact or the airborne route. Thirty twelve-week-old SPF pigs were divided into 4 groups housed in 4 different rooms: the first room contained Salmonella-free control pigs (n = 4), the second room had 10 3 CFU S. Typhimurium inoculated pigs (n = 5) and non-inoculated "contact" pigs (n = 4), the third room had pigs (n = 8) receiving potentially contaminated air from the following room through a hole (4 pigs housed in the pen situated near the hole and 4 pigs in the pen at the opposite side of the room), and the fourth room had pigs (n = 5) inoculated with 10 6 CFU Salmonella Typhimurium and also non inoculated "contact" pigs (n = 4). The "contact" and the inoculated pigs were housed in adjacent pens allowing nose-to-nose contact. The 5 pigs orally inoculated with 10 6 CFU S. Typhimurium were bacteriologically and serologically positive 1 week later and their environment was contaminated as early as 1 day pi. The faecal samples of 4 nose-to-nose contact pigs were bacteriologically positive and one of them was seropositive 5 weeks pi before the pigs were commingled. The 8 pigs housed in the third room received S. Typhimurium by an active airflow coming from the contaminated room (1000 m 3 /hour). Their faecal samples remained negative until 8 weeks pi but the environmental swabs taken in the room close to the airinlet were contaminated 2 days pi and positive swabs were found elsewhere in the room 5 weeks pi. Two seropositive pigs were encountered 8 weeks pi in the pen situated near the hole. Only one among the 5 pigs inoculated with 10 3 CFU had bacteriologically positive faeces 1-week pi and the 4 pigs kept in noseto-nose contact with them remained negative. A dose of 10 3 CFU was too small to induce persistent excretion and to stimulate a humoral immune response. However, the dose of 10 6 CFU induced contamination of nose-to-nose contact pigs and contamination of the environment by airflow.ELISA / Salmonella / pig / airborne transmission Résumé -Contamination des porcs par contact nez-à-nez ou par voie aérienne par Salmonella Typhimurium. L'objectif de cette étude est d'évaluer le risque de contamination des porcs par contact nez-à-nez et par la voie aérienne. Trente porcs exempts d'organismes pathogènes spéci-fiques âgés de 12 semaines ont été subdivisés en 4 groupes hébergés dans 4 salles différentes : la Vet. Res. 32 (2001) 591-600 591

The present investigation was conducted in conjunction with the European Union baseline study for the estimation of Salmonella prevalence in laying-hen flocks. It aimed at evaluating eggshell contamination in farms positive for Salmonella, characterizing the genetic patterns of Salmonella strains and identifying the factors associated with Salmonella contamination of eggshells. For this purpose, a total of 4,200 eggs were collected from 28 positive flocks and analyzed according to draft Annex D of International Organization for Standardization Method 6579. Molecular characterization of the Salmonella strains was obtained by the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis method with two restriction enzymes, XbaI and BlnI. The relationship between the presence of Salmonella on eggshells and rearing practices was studied by using multiple correspondence analysis. Results showed that 39.3% of the positive flocks had at least one positive eggshell, with a total of 1.05% of eggshells testing positive for Salmonella. We detected the same serovars on samples taken from the farm and from eggshells within a given flock, with isolates sharing the same genetic pattern in 7 of 11 flocks. Eggshells tested positive for Salmonella in flocks (i) located where delivery trucks pass near air entrances of the poultry house, (ii) with high holding capacity (>30,000 laying hens), and (iii) with more than five positive samples coming from the farm environment, as well as in cases of flocks with a maximum egg-laying rate of >96% and in cases where farmers worked in other animal production. This study provided valuable information that could be used for risk management and risk assessment studies.

A commercial ELISA test to detect serum anti-gE antibodies to Aujeszky's disease virus was adapted for use with muscle exudates. The muscle samples were taken from the diaphragm of pig carcasses at the slaughterhouse. Three hundred and eighty-nine pairs of samples of serum and muscle exudate were compared to determine the possibility of using muscle exudate samples in a programme to control Aujeszky's disease. Taking the serum samples as the reference, the individual sensitivity of the test was 93.2 per cent and the individual specificity was 98.3 per cent. The concentration of antibodies in the muscle exudates was on average 20 times lower than that in the serum samples.