Comparison of phenotypic and genotypic identification methods of Pasteurella multocida serotypes isolated from pigs

Background: Pasteurella multocida serotypes A and D are commonly associated with pneumonia and pleuritis in pigs. Different phenotypic techniques, such as hyaluronidase and acriflavine tests, and genotyping techniques, such as PCR, are used to distinguish between these serotypes. The objective of this study was to compare the capsular identification methods of type A and type D P. multocida isolated from pigs using both phenotypic (hyaluronidase and acriflavine tests) and genotypic (multiplex PCR) techniques. Materials, Methods & Results: A total of 44 lyophilized P. multocida isolates, obtained between 1981 and 1997 from pig farms at Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, were analyzed. The isolates were reactivated in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth and cultured in BHI broth and blood agar supplemented with 5% sheep blood. Colony identity was further confirmed by evaluating colony morphology in blood agar and confirming the absence of growth on MacConkey agar. Bacteria in Tryptone Soy Agar (TSA) were used for the Triple Sugar Iron (TSI), Sulfide-Indole-Motility (SIM), and nitrate, glucose, lactose, sucrose and mannitol fermentation tests. For hyaluronidase test, P. multocida colonies were streaked transversally across the entire plate, approximately 3-5mm apart, in order to observe their lines of growth. Following this, a hyaluronidase producing strain of Staphylococcus aureus[...](AU)

Frequency of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in fattening pigs in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Background: Staphylococcus (S.) aureus is an important nosocomial pathogen in humans and animals worldwide. The commonest class of antibiotics used to treat staphylococcal infections is the -lactams. Frequently, S. aureus strains show high resistance to methicillin and other -lactam antibiotics, called Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Although MRSA has emerged at slower rate in domestic animals, it has frequently been found in the nasal cavity of healthy piglets and its transmission between pigs and swine handlers has already been studied. The aim of this work was to assess the presence of MRSA in finishing pigs in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Materials, Methods & Results: A total of 350 nasal swabs were collected from 10 to 20 week old finishing pigs. Sampling was performed in five pig farms in northeast Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Swabs were stored in tubes without transport medium and carried to the laboratory under refrigeration. The specimens were cultured in selective and differential Agar (Baird Parker) and then were incubated at 37ºC for 48 h. After isolation of typical colonies of S. aureus, they were inoculated in BHI (Brain Heart Infusion) broth at 37ºC for 24 h and tested for tube coagulase activity. Coagulase positive samples were selected for growth in Oxacillin Resistant Screening Agar (ORSA) supplemented with 2 mg/L [...](AU)

Frequency of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in fattening pigs in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Background: Staphylococcus (S.) aureus is an important nosocomial pathogen in humans and animals worldwide. The commonest class of antibiotics used to treat staphylococcal infections is the -lactams. Frequently, S. aureus strains show high resistance to methicillin and other -lactam antibiotics, called Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Although MRSA has emerged at slower rate in domestic animals, it has frequently been found in the nasal cavity of healthy piglets and its transmission between pigs and swine handlers has already been studied. The aim of this work was to assess the presence of MRSA in finishing pigs in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Materials, Methods & Results: A total of 350 nasal swabs were collected from 10 to 20 week old finishing pigs. Sampling was performed in five pig farms in northeast Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Swabs were stored in tubes without transport medium and carried to the laboratory under refrigeration. The specimens were cultured in selective and differential Agar (Baird Parker) and then were incubated at 37ºC for 48 h. After isolation of typical colonies of S. aureus, they were inoculated in BHI (Brain Heart Infusion) broth at 37ºC for 24 h and tested for tube coagulase activity. Coagulase positive samples were selected for growth in Oxacillin Resistant Screening Agar (ORSA) supplemented with 2 mg/L [...]

Comparison of phenotypic and genotypic identification methods of Pasteurella multocida serotypes isolated from pigs

Background: Pasteurella multocida serotypes A and D are commonly associated with pneumonia and pleuritis in pigs. Different phenotypic techniques, such as hyaluronidase and acriflavine tests, and genotyping techniques, such as PCR, are used to distinguish between these serotypes. The objective of this study was to compare the capsular identification methods of type A and type D P. multocida isolated from pigs using both phenotypic (hyaluronidase and acriflavine tests) and genotypic (multiplex PCR) techniques. Materials, Methods & Results: A total of 44 lyophilized P. multocida isolates, obtained between 1981 and 1997 from pig farms at Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, were analyzed. The isolates were reactivated in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth and cultured in BHI broth and blood agar supplemented with 5% sheep blood. Colony identity was further confirmed by evaluating colony morphology in blood agar and confirming the absence of growth on MacConkey agar. Bacteria in Tryptone Soy Agar (TSA) were used for the Triple Sugar Iron (TSI), Sulfide-Indole-Motility (SIM), and nitrate, glucose, lactose, sucrose and mannitol fermentation tests. For hyaluronidase test, P. multocida colonies were streaked transversally across the entire plate, approximately 3-5mm apart, in order to observe their lines of growth. Following this, a hyaluronidase producing strain of Staphylococcus aureus[...]

Outbreak of cumarin poisoning in suckling piglets / Surto de intoxicação por cumarínico em leitões de maternidade

Background: Cumarin, also called warfarin, is used as an anticoagulant rodenticide. Pigs can be accidentally poisoned by ingestion of baits and/or dead rodents contaminated with cumarin and/or its criminal use. The clinical signs typically begin one to three days after ingestion of the rodenticide, when subcutaneous hematomas, epistaxis, among others symptoms, can be observed. The macroscopic and microscopic changes consist mainly of widespread hemorrhages in several organs. The objective of the present study is to report a rare case of cumarin poisoning in suckling piglets.Case: Four male piglets 18 days old were examined in the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. The animals came from a farrowing unit located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with a history of sudden death in piglets from different litters. The animals were submitted to necropsy. On external examination, the piglets had marked pallor of the oral and conjunctival mucosa and multiple petechiae and bruises on the skin of the ventral abdomen and bleeding on the white line of the hoof. During the internal examination, it was identified that there were multiple areas of hemorrhage in the subcutaneous tissue and skeletal muscles besides the thymus, liver, stomach, pancreas, bladder, kidney, heart and cerebellum. The mesenteric and inguinal lymph nodes, testicles and...(AU)

Derivados cumarínicos, também chamados varfarínicos, são compostos da cumarina utilizados como rodenticidas anticoagulantes em granjas de suínos como forma de controle de roedores [7]. Suínos podem se intoxicar acidentalmente através da ingestão de iscas e/ou roedores mortos por estas substâncias, ou pelo uso criminoso das mesmas [6]. Esses compostos inibem de forma competitiva a vitamina K epóxi redutase, enzima necessária para converter a vitamina K epóxi à sua forma reduzida, que é necessária para ativação dos fatores de coagulação II, VII, IX e X, consequentemente, a coagulação é comprometida [7]. A ingestão de 3 mg/kg em dose única pode ser suficiente para levar à intoxicação de suínos [2]. Já as doses de 0,05 mg/kg, se ingeridas por sete dias, também podem intoxicar os animais [5]. Os sinais clínicos normalmente surgem um a três dias após ingestão do raticida, sendo observados principalmente hematomas subcutâneos e epistaxe. As alterações macroscópicas e microscópicas consistem de hemorragias disseminadas em diversos órgãos [6]. O diagnóstico diferencial deve incluir carência de vitamina K; tratamento com quimioterápicos por períodos prolongados; intoxicação por chumbo, fosfato de zinco, ricina (da mamona), aflatoxinas e venenos ofídicos [6] e, principalmente, trombocitopenia púrpura dos leitões [9]. Dessa forma, a descrição de um surto de intoxicação por cumarínico pode...(AU)

Outbreak of cumarin poisoning in suckling piglets / Surto de intoxicação por cumarínico em leitões de maternidade

Background: Cumarin, also called warfarin, is used as an anticoagulant rodenticide. Pigs can be accidentally poisoned by ingestion of baits and/or dead rodents contaminated with cumarin and/or its criminal use. The clinical signs typically begin one to three days after ingestion of the rodenticide, when subcutaneous hematomas, epistaxis, among others symptoms, can be observed. The macroscopic and microscopic changes consist mainly of widespread hemorrhages in several organs. The objective of the present study is to report a rare case of cumarin poisoning in suckling piglets.Case: Four male piglets 18 days old were examined in the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. The animals came from a farrowing unit located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with a history of sudden death in piglets from different litters. The animals were submitted to necropsy. On external examination, the piglets had marked pallor of the oral and conjunctival mucosa and multiple petechiae and bruises on the skin of the ventral abdomen and bleeding on the white line of the hoof. During the internal examination, it was identified that there were multiple areas of hemorrhage in the subcutaneous tissue and skeletal muscles besides the thymus, liver, stomach, pancreas, bladder, kidney, heart and cerebellum. The mesenteric and inguinal lymph nodes, testicles and...

Derivados cumarínicos, também chamados varfarínicos, são compostos da cumarina utilizados como rodenticidas anticoagulantes em granjas de suínos como forma de controle de roedores [7]. Suínos podem se intoxicar acidentalmente através da ingestão de iscas e/ou roedores mortos por estas substâncias, ou pelo uso criminoso das mesmas [6]. Esses compostos inibem de forma competitiva a vitamina K epóxi redutase, enzima necessária para converter a vitamina K epóxi à sua forma reduzida, que é necessária para ativação dos fatores de coagulação II, VII, IX e X, consequentemente, a coagulação é comprometida [7]. A ingestão de 3 mg/kg em dose única pode ser suficiente para levar à intoxicação de suínos [2]. Já as doses de 0,05 mg/kg, se ingeridas por sete dias, também podem intoxicar os animais [5]. Os sinais clínicos normalmente surgem um a três dias após ingestão do raticida, sendo observados principalmente hematomas subcutâneos e epistaxe. As alterações macroscópicas e microscópicas consistem de hemorragias disseminadas em diversos órgãos [6]. O diagnóstico diferencial deve incluir carência de vitamina K; tratamento com quimioterápicos por períodos prolongados; intoxicação por chumbo, fosfato de zinco, ricina (da mamona), aflatoxinas e venenos ofídicos [6] e, principalmente, trombocitopenia púrpura dos leitões [9]. Dessa forma, a descrição de um surto de intoxicação por cumarínico pode...