NEONATAL PIGLET MESOCOLON OEDEMA AND COLITIS. PATHOLOGY AND ETIOLOGY

摘要

Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic Gram positive opportunistic bacteria found in the soil, water and in the digestive tract of several mammals species. In mammals, the infection by C. difficile has a common clinical sign of diarrhoea that follows achange of the normal intestinal flora by antibiotics. C. difficile infection in pigs was reported in association with swine dysentery. In gnotobiotic pigs a reduction of feed intake and mucous to mucohaemorrhagic faeces were seen, however when C. difficile toxins were applied in colonic loops they failed to produce any changes. Besides C. difficile was isolated from two month old pigs with retarded growth, diarrhoea and fibrinonecrotic enterocolitis. Currently in high-health herds and not related withantibiotic treatment, C. difficile has been associated with neonatal enteritis in 2 to 5 day old piglets and catarrhal, fibrinous or purulent colitis. The aims of this work were to determine the prevalence and to describe the pathological changes found in those cases classified as neonatal mesocolon oedema and colitis in piglets suspected to be due to C. difficile alone or in mixed infection.