A longitudinal study to assess Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae natural infection in gilts
This study was conducted by Dr. Karine Takeuti under the supervision of Dr. Maria Pieters from the University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine. The objective was to sample replacement gilts from 20 days of age until the day before weaning to detect Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae . Laryngeal swabs, tested by PCR, were taken every 30 days at a Mycoplasma positive sow farm. Therefore, the animals were naturally infected.
Gilts were found positive at 110 days, no detection in piglets
11.4% of the gilts were found positive at 110 days whereas all the previous samples came back negative. Positive results peaked at 140 days when 36.4% of the samples were positive for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. 27.3% of the gilts got positive results twice or more during the sampling period but 18.2% of the animals remained negative for the duration of the study. All of the 220 piglets samples were also negative.
Abstract
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae causes a chronic respiratory infection in pigs and its transmission occurs mainly by direct contact and by vertical transmission (sow-to-piglet). The objective of this study was to assess the detection dynamics and persistence of M. hyopneumoniae natural infection in replacement gilts. Forty-four twenty-day-old gilts were selected from a M. hyopneumoniae positive farm and followed up to one day prior to their first weaning. Laryngeal swabs were collected every 30 days, starting at day 20, for M. hyopneumoniae detection by real-time PCR, resulting in 12 samplings. Piglets born to selected females were sampled via laryngeal swabs one day prior to weaning to evaluate sow-to-piglet transmission. The M. hyopneumoniae prevalence was estimated at each one of the 12 samplings in gilts and a multiple comparison test and Bonferroni correction were performed. Bacterial detection in gilts started at 110 days of age (doa) and a significant increase (p < 0.05) occurred at 140 doa. The M. hyopneumoniae prevalence remained above 20% from 140 to 230 doa, decreasing thereafter. However, it did not reach 0% at any sampling after 110 doa. In this study, M. hyopneumoniae was not detected in piglets sampled prior to weaning. The M. hyopneumoniae detection pattern showed that in natural infections, gilts were positive for M. hyopneumoniae for one to three months, but occasionally long-term detection may occur. Moreover, the lack of M. hyopneumoniae detection throughout the study in 18.2% of gilts indicated the existence of negative subpopulations in positive herds.