Ureaplasma diversum and Ureaplasma sp. in nasal cavity of pigs: Distribution among herds and individual frequency based on pooled samples.

ABSTRACT

The role of Ureaplasma diversum in the porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC), its circulation among herds and prevalence in live pigs is unknown; thus, the objectives of this study were to determine the presence of U. diversum in indoor intensive pig herds and to determine the individual frequency of pigs with U. diversum from pooled samples. A cross sectional study was carried out in 16 indoor intensive herds from Córdoba and La Pampa provinces, collecting eight nasal swabs specimens that were further processed by two pools of four specimens each by a PCR targeting a fragment of 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Four PCR products were sequenced and aligned against data bases. U. diversum - Ureaplasma sp. were detected in 56.3% of the analyzed herds, with 16.5% (95% CI 8.2-30.8) of positive pigs. It was concluded that U. diversum - Ureaplasma sp. are present in the nasal cavity of live pigs, being widely distributed among herds.