C. difficile in neonatal piglets on 3 Dutch farms; a cohort study

Abstract

Introduction Clostridia species play a major role in the intestines of neonatal pigs and are an important part of the anaerobic microbiota during the first days of life. Also, Clostridium difficile is a known cause of neonatal enterocolitis in piglets. The aim of this study is to investigate presence of C. difficile on successive moments in the early life of piglets on Dutch farms and the relationship between clinical signs and the presence of C. difficile and between clinical signs and the presence of toxins of C. difficile in the feces of piglets.

Materials and methods Fecal samples were taken from 30 piglets and 15 sows on subsequent days (day 1, 4,7 and 11) after parturition on three different farms, two with an history of neonatal diarrhea and one farm without reported clinical sigs of diarrhea. Samples were analyzed using a qPCRs specific for C. difficile to demonstrate the presence of C. difficile and toxin ELISAs for the evaluation the presence of toxins of C. difficile.

Results On day 1 after birth C. difficile was present in 63% of the piglets which increased till 97% on day 4. On day 11 only 50% of the piglets tested positive. The presence of toxins of C. difficile showed the same pattern as the presence of C. difficile with 10% positive samples on day 1, 63% on day 4 and 10% on day 11. Only 12/30 piglets developed diarrhea during the first day. There was no link between presence of C. difficile and clinical diarrhea and neither between the presence of toxins of C. difficile and clinical diarrhea.

Discussion/Conclusion C. difficile is a pathogen that is present on Dutch pig farms, with the highest prevalence in 4-day old piglets. There is no clear relation between clinical signs and the presence of C. difficile or between clinical signs and the presence of toxins of C. difficile in this study which makes it plausible that C. difficile does not always cause disease. The mechanism what makes C. difficile a disease-causing pathogen in piglets need further study to clarify the role of this possible zoonotic bacterium in the Dutch pig industry.