Neonatal piglet losses associated with Escherichia coli and Clostridium difficile infection in a Slovakian outdoor production unit

摘要

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive to Gram-variable, spore-forming anaerobe found in the environment and in the intestinal tracts of various mammals, birds and reptiles (Post et al., 2001). In pigs, where normal gut flora has not been established, or has been disrupted, C. difficile may establish and produce toxins in the large intestine (Bilkei et al., 1995). It may also cause pathological changes in the intestines of piglets, typically in those one to seven days of age, and often reflects alack of hygiene, stress or dietary change (Bilkei et al., 1995). Clinical signs in piglets include diarrhoea and respiratory distress and high morbidity and mortality can occur. Pathological signs often reveal inflammatory enteric changes, mesocolonic oedema, hydrothorax, ascites, scattered foci of suppuration, accumulation of neutrophils and fibrin in the colonic lamina propria (Songer et al., 2000).