SUMMARY: A total of 207 wild rodents were caught on nine pig farms, five chicken farms and five non-farm locations in Sweden and surveyed for a selection of bacteria, parasites and viruses.Lawsonia intracellulariaand pathogenicYersinia enterocoliticawere only detected in rodents on pig farms (9% and 8% prevalence, respectively) which indicate that these agents are more likely to be transmitted to rodents from pigs or the environment on infected farms.Brachyspira hyodysenteriae(1%),Brachyspira intermedia(2%),Campylobacter jejuni(4%),Campylobacter upsaliensis(2%), leptospires (7%) and encephalomyocarditis virus (9%) were also detected from rodents not in contact with farm animals.GiardiaandCryptosporidiumspp. were common, although no zoonotic types were verified, andSalmonella entericawas isolated from 1/11 mice on one farm but not detected by PCR from any of the rodents.Trichinellaspp. andToxoplasma gondiiwere not detected.

Biosecurity measures are important tools to maintain animal health in pig herds. Within the MINAPIG project, whose overall aim is to evaluate strategies to raise pigs with less antimicrobial use, biosecurity was evaluated in medium to large farrow-to-finish pig herds in Sweden. In 60 farrow-to-finish herds with more than 100 sows, the biosecurity level was evaluated using a previously developed protocol (BioCheck). In a detailed questionnaire, internal and external biosecurity was scored in six subcategories each. An overall score for biosecurity was also provided. Information regarding production parameters as well as gender and educational level of personnel working with the pigs was also collected. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the recorded data. The median scores for external and internal biosecurity were 68 and 59, respectively, where 0 indicates total absence of biosecurity and 100 means maximal possible biosecurity. The subcategories for external and internal biosecurity that had the highest scores were “Purchase of animals” (external) and “Nursery unit”/“Fattening unit” (internal), while “Feed, water and equipment supplies” (external) and “Measures between compartments and equipment”/“Cleaning and disinfection” (internal) received the lowest scores. A female caretaker in the farrowing unit, a farmer with fewer years of experience and more educated personnel were positively associated with higher scores for some of the external and internal subcategories. In herds with <190 sows, fattening pigs were mixed between batches significantly more often than in larger herds. The herds in this study had a high level of external biosecurity, as well as good internal biosecurity. Strong biosecurity related to the purchase of animals, protocols for visitors, the use of all-in, all-out systems, and sanitary period between batches. Still, there is room for improvement in preventing both the introduction of disease to herds (external) and the spread of infections within herds (internal). Systems for animal transport can be improved and with respect to internal biosecurity, there is especially room for improvement regarding hygiene measures in and between compartments, as well as the staff’s working procedures between different groups of pigs.

Background: Streptococcus suisis a major cause of meningitis, arthritis, and pneumonia in pigs worldwide, and an emerging pathogen in humans. In Sweden,S. suishas previously received little attention but has in recent years become increasingly recognized as affecting the pig production. The aim of the present study was to investigate the occurrence, serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility ofS. suisin Swedish grower pigs from herds with and without reportedS. suisassociated disease, as well as possible associations betweenS. suisassociated disease and selected environmental and production factors. Swab samples were taken from the tonsils of clinically healthy 8–13-week-old grower pigs from ten case herds and ten control herds. Isolates were cultured, identified using MALDI–TOF MS, and serotyped using latex agglutination. The antimicrobial susceptibility of 188 isolates was tested using broth microdilution. Production data was gathered and environmental parameters were measured on the farms.Results: Streptococcus suiswas isolated from 95% of the sampled pigs in both the case and the control herds. Serotypes 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 17–34 were detected, although a majority of the isolates (81.5%) were non-typeable. There was less diversity among the serotypes isolated from the case herds than among those from the control herds; four and nine different serotypes, respectively. Isolates resistant to penicillin (3.8%) were reported for the first time in Sweden. Tetracycline resistance was common (88.4%). No association was noted between the production and the environmental factors investigated, and the carriership ofS. suis.Conclusions: The carriership ofS. suiswas found to be higher in clinically healthy Swedish pigs than previously estimated, and for the first time, the presence of Swedish isolates resistant to penicillin was reported. Many of the most commonly disease-associated serotypes, e.g. serotypes 2, 9, 3, and 7, were detected in healthy grower pigs although further studies are needed to investigate the virulence of these isolates.

Pure Eurasian wild boars and/or hybrids with domestic pigs are present in the wild on most continents. These wild pigs have been demonstrated to carry a large number of zoonotic and epizootic pathogens such as Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis. Wild boar populations throughout Europe are growing and more and more wild boar meat is being consumed, the majority within the homes of hunters without having passed a veterinary inspection. The aim of this study was to investigate if factors such as population density, level of artificial feeding, time since establishment of a given population, and the handling of animal by-products from slaughtered animals could influence the presence of these pathogens in the wild boar. In total, 90 wild boars from 30 different populations in Sweden were sampled and analysed using a protocol combining pre-cultivation and PCR-detection. The results showed that 27% of the sampled wild boars were positive for Salmonella spp., 31% were positive for Y. enterocolitica and 22% were positive for Y. pseudotuberculosis. In 80% of the sampled populations, at least one wild boar was positive for one of these enteropathogens and in total, 60% of the animals carried at least one of the investigated enteropathogens. The presumptive risk factors were analysed using a case–control approach, however, no significant associations were found. Human enteropathogens are commonly carried by wild boars, mainly in the tonsils, and can thus constitute a risk for contamination of the carcass and meat during slaughter. Based on the present results, the effect of reducing population densities and number of artificial feeding places might be limited.