title: Seroprevalence of enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. in pig batches at slaughter.
abstract: Enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. are one of the main causes of foodborne bacterial infections in Europe. Slaughter pigs are the main reservoir and carcasses are contaminated during a sub-optimal hygienically slaughtering-process. Serology is potentially an easy option to test for the Yersinia-status of the pig (batches) before slaughter. A study of the variation in activity values (OD%) of Yersinia spp. in pigs and pig batches when applying a serological test were therefore conducted. In this study, pieces of the diaphragm of 7047 pigs, originating from 100 farms, were collected and meat juice was gathered, where after an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Pigtype Yopscreen (Labor Diagnostik Leipzig, Qiagen, Leipzig, Germany) was performed. The results were defined positive if the activity values exceeded the proposed cut-off value of 30 OD%. Results at pig level displayed a bimodal-shaped distribution with modes at 0-10% (n=879) and 50-60% (n=667). The average OD% was 51% and 66% of the animals tested positive. The within-batch seroprevalence ranged from 0 to 100% and also showed a bimodal distribution with modes at 0% (n=7) and 85-90% (n=16). On 7 farms, no single seropositive animal was present and in 22 farms, the mean OD% was below 30%. Based on the results obtained at slaughter, 66% of the pigs had contact with enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. at farm level. The latter occurred in at least 93% of the farms indicating that most farms are harboring enteropathogenic Yersinia spp.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Faculty Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. Electronic address: Gerty.Vanantwerpen@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Gerty
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vanantwerpen
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Faculty Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. Electronic address: Inge.Vandamme@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Van Damme
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Faculty Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. Electronic address: Lieven.Dezutter@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Lieven
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Zutter
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Faculty Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. Electronic address: Kurt.Houf@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Houf
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015009:Yersinia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015008:Yersinia enterocolitica / Q000302:isolation & purification*
keywords: Batch; Pig; Seroprevalence; Slaughter; Yersinia spp.