Analysis of the 1998 outbreak of leptospirosis in Missouri in humans exposed to infected swine.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent of leptospirosis in persons exposed to infected swine, confirm the source of disease, define risk factors for infection, and identify means for preventing additional infections during an outbreak in Missouri in 1998. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SAMPLE POPULATION: 240 people and 1,700 pigs. PROCEDURE: An epidemiologic investigation was conducted of people exposed to infected pigs from the University of Missouri-Columbia swine herd. The investigation included review of health of the pigs, a cross-sectional study of the people handling the pigs, serologic testing of human and porcine sera, and risk-factor analysis for leptospirosis within the human population. RESULTS: Serologic testing of samples collected at the time of the investigation indicated that 59% of the pigs had titers to leptospires, denoting exposure. Of the 240 people in the exposed study population, 163 (68%) were interviewed, and of these, 110 (67%) submitted a blood sample. Nine (8%) cases of leptospirosis were confirmed by serologic testing. Risk factors associated with leptospirosis included smoking (odds ratio [OR], 14.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.39 to 137.74) and drinking beverages (OR, 5.1; 95% CI, 1.04 to 24.30) while working with infected pigs. Washing hands after work was protective (OR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.03 to 0.81). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Leptospirosis is a risk for swine producers and slaughterhouse workers, and may be prevented through appropriate hygiene, sanitation, and animal husbandry. It is essential to educate people working with animals or animal tissues about measures for reducing the risk of exposure to zoonotic pathogens.

Bioavailability of lead to juvenile swine dosed with soil from the Smuggler Mountain NPL Site of Aspen, Colorado.

Bioavailability of lead (Pb) has become an issue in quantifying exposure of sensitive populations and, where necessary, establishing cleanup levels for contaminated soil. Immature swine were used as a model for young children to estimate the degree to which Pb from two fully characterized composite samples from the Smuggler Mountain Superfund Site in Aspen, Colorado may be bioavailable to resident children. The composite soils contained 14,200 and 3870 micrograms Pb/g of soil. Relative and absolute enteric bioavailabilities of Pb in soil (oral dose groups of 75,225, and 675 micrograms Pb/kg body wt/day) were estimated by comparison with an orally administered soluble Pb salt (lead acetate = PbAc2.3H2O) (dose groups of 0, 75, and 225 micrograms Pb/kg body wt/day) and an intravenously administered aqueous solution of Pb (100 micrograms Pb/kg/ day) from the same trihydrate salt administered daily for 15 days to 50 juvenile swine. The biological responses (area under the blood Pb concentration-time curve, and the terminal liver-, kidney-, and bone-lead concentrations) produced by Pb from PbAc2.3H2O and lead-contaminated soils were determined. This study revealed Pb from soil containing 14,200 micrograms Pb/g of soil had a bioavailability relative to Pb from PbAc (RBA), ranging from 56% based on the area under the blood lead concentration-time curve (AUC) versus dose, to 86% based on calculations from liver-Pb loading versus dose. Similarly, Pb from soil containing 3870 micrograms Pb/g of soil had an RBA ranging from 58% based on the AUC versus dose, to 74% based on calculations from liver- and kidney-Pb loading versus dose. Bioavailability of Pb in soils may be more or less than EPA's default RBA of 60%, therefore, measuring site-specific RBAs provides a basis for improved exposure and risk assessment.

Permanent urinary diversion in two Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs by extrapelvic urethral or urethropreputial anastomosis.

Permanent urinary diversion was performed in a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig to bypass apparent urethral obstruction at the level of the urethral recess and in a second pig to correct bleeding from perineal urethrostomy. In the first pig, extrapelvic anastomosis of the penile portion of the urethra to the pelvic portion of the urethra was performed. In the second pig, the penis was amputated and the pelvic portion of the urethra was anastomosed to the preputial epithelium, creating a urethropreputial conduit. Postoperatively, positive-contrast radiography demonstrated continuity of the anastomoses, and both pigs were able to urinate normally. The pig with the urethropreputial anastomosis developed hematuria and nocturia that were controlled by continuous administration of antibiotics and resolved following cleansing of the preputial diverticulum 1 year after surgery. Extrapelvic urinary diversion should be considered for permanent resolution of urethral obstruction in Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs; urethral anastomosis is preferable to urethropreputial anastomosis, because of the greater risk of ascending urinary tract infection associated with urethropreputial anastomosis.

Chronic toxicity of fumonisin in weanling pigs.

Three gilts fed a diet containing 100 mg fumonisin B1/kg for 7 days followed by a diet containing 190 mg/kg for 83 days developed nodular hyperplasia of the liver. These nodules of various diameters were composed of solid sheets or nests of hepatocytes. There were no discernible central veins or portal triads, and the perilobular connective tissue and adjacent parenchyma were compressed. Three other gilts maintained on the same diet for 27-80 days developed severe hepatopathies, but not nodular hyperplasia, necessitating euthanasia prior to conclusion of the feeding trial. At necropsy, 1 of the 6 gilts had grossly apparent hyperplastic plaques within the distal esophageal mucosa. On histopathologic examination, 6 of 6 gilts had mild to severe hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis, and formation of papillary downgrowths of the stratum basale of the distal esophageal mucosa. The hyperplastic nodules in the liver and the changes in the distal esophageal mucosa illustrate the unique chronic toxicity of this mycotoxin in pigs.

Patterns associated with season and facilities for atrophic rhinitis and pneumonia in slaughter swine.

Three slaughter checks were performed for each of 21 swine producers at 6-month intervals. Two slaughter checks were performed during the winter, and 1 slaughter check was performed during the summer. Lesions of atrophic rhinitis and pneumonia were evaluated during the slaughter checks. Two types of farrowing facilities and 4 types of grower/finisher facilities were used by the swine producers. Lesions of atrophic rhinitis and pneumonia were compared among seasons and among types of facilities. Lesions of both atrophic rhinitis and pneumonia varied with season. Lesions of atrophic rhinitis were more severe among hogs slaughtered in the summer, whereas lesions of pneumonia were more severe among hogs slaughtered in the winter. Lesions of atrophic rhinitis were more severe in hogs farrowed in central, enclosed farrowing houses and finished in enclosed, mechanically ventilated buildings than in hogs farrowed individually in sow huts and finished on dirt lots. Knowledge of disease patterns associated with season and facilities is useful for assessment of herd health status and for implementation of control programs.

Measurement of conchal atrophy and pneumonic lesions and their association with growth rate in commingled feeder pigs.

A group of 85 commingled feeder pigs was fed on a totally confined feeding floor until slaughter. Mean daily weight gain was calculated for each pig. At slaughter, the nose of each pig was cross-sectioned and scored for conchal atrophy by use of 2 methods. One method ascribed a score based on a linear measurement of the distance between the ventral scroll of the ventral conchae and the ventral floor of the nasal cavity. The other method ascribed a score based on a subjective evaluation of the degree of conchal degeneration according to previously published guidelines. The amount of pulmonary consolidation attributable to pneumonia was also estimated for each pig. Association was not found between growth rate and conchal atrophy, as determined by linear measurement scores. A negative correlation existed between growth rate and conchal atrophy, as determined by subjective evaluation scores. Pigs with extensive pneumonic lesions (consolidation of 20 to 30% of total lung volume) grew slower than pigs with milder pneumonic lesions. Results of this study indicate that subjective evaluation scores of conchal atrophy may be more useful in predicting growth rate than are linear measurement scores.

Pasteurella multocida and Bordetella bronchiseptica in atrophic rhinitis and pneumonia in swine.

A total of 163 pigs from nine farrow-to-finish herds representing various levels of atrophic rhinitis (AR) were selected for postslaughter examination of AR and pneumonia. Nasal swabs and lungs were cultured for detection of Bordetella bronchiseptica and Pasteurella multocida. Seventy-three pigs were examined at eight weeks of age and 90 contemporaries at six months of age. Mean AR scores were 1.21 and 1.11 for the eight week and six month old pigs, respectively (0 = normal, 3 = severe). In individual pigs increasing AR score was related to increasing pneumonia score in eight week old pigs but not in six month old hogs. In eight week old pigs, B. bronchiseptica and P. multocida were isolated more frequently from pigs with higher AR scores. From nasal swabs of six month old hogs, Bordetella was almost never recovered while Pasteurella was frequently isolated score. Toxigenic type DP. multocida was isolated from nasal cultures of only seven (4%) pigs and from lung cultures of only one pig. Pasteurella was never isolated from lungs of the eight week old pigs and Bordetella never from the six month old hogs. The isolation rate of P. multocida, predominantly type A, from lungs of six month old pigs increased from 11% in grossly normal lungs to 86% in lungs with severe pneumonia. Pigs from one herd free from lesions of AR and pneumonia were also examined; type AP. multocida was isolated from nasal cultures of one of six eight week old pigs. Somatic antigens of P. multocida were determined for 94 nasal and 20 lung isolates. Somatic serovar 3 was found in 93% of the nasal isolates and in all lung isolates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of atrophic rhinitis on growth rate in Illinois swine herds.

Influence of atrophic rhinitis (AR) on mean daily weight gain (MDG) was studied in hogs randomly selected from 7 farrow-to-finish herds in Illinois. Herds were selected to obtain a wide range of clinical signs and lesions of the disease; thus, prevalence of clinical signs of AR in finishing hogs ranged from 0% to 20% among herds, and in hogs examined at slaughter the proportion of hogs with turbinate lesions ranged from 5% to 92%. None of the herds investigated had any obvious problems with pneumonia; nevertheless, hogs with moderate to severe pneumonic lesions were excluded from the study, to minimize any combined effect of AR and pneumonia. In 3 herds, MDG in AR-free pigs was 15% to 18% better than in pigs with severe AR lesions. Prevalence of clinical signs ranged from 5% to 20%, and of turbinate lesions, from 66% to 92%. In 4 herds in which MDG appeared to be unaffected by AR, prevalence of clinical signs of the disease ranged from 0% to 5%, and of turbinate lesions, from 5% to 74%. No consistent pattern of influence on AR lesions was found for bacterial infections, as determined by culturing of nasal swab specimens on MacConkey agar and blood agar.