Acclimation strategies in gilts to control Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae) is the primary causative agent of enzootic pneumonia (EP), one of the most economically important infectious disease for the swine industry worldwide. M. hyopneumoniae transmission occurs mainly by direct contact (nose-to-nose) between infected to susceptible pigs as well as from infected dams to their offspring (sow-to-piglet). Since disease severity has been correlated with M. hyopneumoniae prevalence at weaning in some studies, and gilts are considered the main bacterial shedders, an effective gilt acclimation program should help controlling M. hyopneumoniae in swine farms. The present review summarizes the different M. hyopneumoniae monitoring strategies of incoming gilts and recipient herd and proposes a farm classification according to their health statuses. The medication and vaccination programs against M. hyopneumoniae most used in replacement gilts are reviewed as well. Gilt replacement acclimation against M. hyopneumoniae in Europe and North America indicates that vaccination is the main strategy used, but there is a current trend in US to deliberately expose gilts to the pathogen.

Survey on Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae gilt acclimation practices in Europe.

Gilts are considered to play a key role in Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae) transmission and control. An effective gilt acclimation program should ideally reduce M. hyopneumoniae shedding at first farrowing, decreasing pre-weaning colonization prevalence and potential respiratory problems in fatteners. However, information on gilt acclimation practices is scarce in Europe. The aim of this study was to identify current acclimation strategies for M. hyopneumoniae in Europe using a questionnaire designed to assess 15 questions focused on gilt replacement status, acclimation strategies and methods used to ascertain its effect. A total of 321 questionnaires (representing 321 farms) were voluntarily completed by 108 veterinarians (from 18 European countries). From these farms, 280 out of 321 (87.2%) were aware of the health status of gilts on arrival. From these 280 farms, 161 (57.5%) introduced M. hyopneumoniae positive replacements. In addition, 249 out of 321 (77.6%) farms applied an acclimation process using different strategies, being M. hyopneumoniae vaccination (145 out of 249, 58.2%) and the combination of vaccine and exposure to sows selected for slaughter (53 out of 249, 21.3%) the most commonly used. Notwithstanding, only 53 out of 224 (23.6%) farms, knowing the M. hyopneumoniae initial status and performing acclimation strategies against it, verified the effect of the acclimation by ELISA (22 out of 53, 41.5%), PCR (4 out of 53, 7.5%) or both (27 out of 53, 50.9%). This study showed that three fourths of the farms represented in this European survey have M. hyopneumoniae acclimation strategies for gilts, and one fifth of them verify to some extent the effect of the process. Taking into account that the assessment of acclimation efficacy could help in optimizing replacement gilt introduction into the breeding herd, it seems these practices for M. hyopneumoniae are still poorly developed in Europe.

Genome plasticity of triple-reassortant H1N1 influenza A virus during infection of vaccinated pigs.

To gain insight into the evolution of influenza A viruses (IAVs) during infection of vaccinated pigs, we experimentally infected a 3-week-old naive pig with a triple-reassortant H1N1 IAV and placed the seeder pig in direct contact with a group of age-matched vaccinated pigs (n = 10). We indexed the genetic diversity and evolution of the virus at an intra-host level by deep sequencing the entire genome directly from nasal swabs collected at two separate samplings during infection. We obtained 13 IAV metagenomes from 13 samples, which included the virus inoculum and two samples from each of the six pigs that tested positive for IAV during the study. The infection produced a population of heterogeneous alleles (sequence variants) that was dynamic over time. Overall, 794 polymorphisms were identified amongst all samples, which yielded 327 alleles, 214 of which were unique sequences. A total of 43 distinct haemagglutinin proteins were translated, two of which were observed in multiple pigs, whereas the neuraminidase (NA) was conserved and only one dominant NA was found throughout the study. The genetic diversity of IAVs changed dynamically within and between pigs. However, most of the substitutions observed in the internal gene segments were synonymous. Our results demonstrated remarkable IAV diversity, and the complex, rapid and dynamic evolution of IAV during infection of vaccinated pigs that can only be appreciated with repeated sampling of individual animals and deep sequence analysis.

Relationship between airborne detection of influenza A virus and the number of infected pigs.

Influenza A virus infects a wide range of species including both birds and mammals (including humans). One of the key routes by which the virus can infect populations of animals is by aerosol transmission. This study explored the relationship between number of infected pigs and the probability of detecting influenza virus RNA in bioaerosols through the course of an acute infection. Bioaerosols were collected using a cyclonic collector in two groups of 7 week-old pigs that were experimentally infected by exposure with a contact infected pig (seeder pig). After contact exposure, individual pig nasal swab samples were collected daily and air samples were collected three times per day for 8 days. All samples were tested for influenza by real-time reverse transcriptase (RRT)-PCR targeting the influenza virus matrix gene. All pigs' nasal swabs became influenza virus RRT-PCR positive upon exposure to the infected seeder pig. Airborne influenza was detected in 28/43 (65%) air samples. The temporal dynamics of influenza virus detection in air samples was in close agreement with the nasal shedding pattern in the infected pigs. First detection of positive bioaerosols happened at 1 day post contact (DPC). Positive bioaerosols were consistently detected between 3 and 6 DPC, a time when most pigs were also shedding virus in nasal secretions. Overall, the odds of detecting a positive air sample increased 2.2 times for every additional nasal swab positive pig in the group. In summary, there was a strong relationship between the number of pigs shedding influenza virus in nasal secretions and the generation of bioaerosols during the course of an acute infection.

The impact of maternally derived immunity on influenza A virus transmission in neonatal pig populations.

The commonality of influenza A virus (IAV) exposure and vaccination on swine farms in the United States ensures that the majority of neonatal pigs will have some degree of maternal immunity to IAV. The influence of maternal immunity on IAV transmission in neonatal pig populations will impact virus prevalence and infection dynamics across pig populations. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of maternally derived immunity on IAV transmission in an experimental setting. Neonatal pigs suckled colostrum and derived maternal (passive) immunity from sows in one of three treatment groups: (a) non-vaccinated control (CTRL) or vaccinated with (b) homologous (PASSV-HOM) or (c) heterologous (PASSV-HET) inactivated experimental IAV vaccines. Sentinel neonatal pigs derived from the groups above were challenged with IAV via direct contact with an experimentally infected pig (seeder pig) and monitored for IAV infection daily via nasal swab sampling. A susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) experimental model was used to obtain and estimate transmission parameters in each treatment group via a generalized linear model. All sentinel pigs in the CTRL (30/30) and PASSV-HET (30/30) groups were infected with IAV following contact with the seeder pigs and the reproduction ratio estimates (95% confidence interval) were 10.4 (6.6-15.8) and 7.1 (4.2-11.3), respectively. In contrast, 1/20 sentinel pigs in the PASSV-HOM group was infected following contact with the seeder pigs and the reproduction ratio estimate was significantly lower compared to the CTRL and PASSV-HET groups at 0.8 (0.1-3.7). Under the conditions of this study, IAV transmission was reduced in neonatal pigs with homologous maternal immunity compared to seronegative neonatal pigs and pigs with heterologous maternal immunity as defined in this study. This study provides estimates for IAV transmission in pigs with differing types of maternal immunity which may describe the influence of maternal immunity on IAV prevalence and infection dynamics in pig populations.

Sensitivity of oral fluids for detecting influenza A virus in populations of vaccinated and non-vaccinated pigs.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the sensitivity of PCR on oral fluids in detecting influenza virus in vaccinated and non-vaccinated pigs. METHODS: Three-week-old influenza-free pigs were divided into three groups: (i) control, non-vaccinated, (ii) vaccinated with a commercial, heterologous vaccine, and (iii) vaccinated with an experimental, homologous vaccine. After vaccination, an influenza-infected pig was placed in contact with each of the groups. Individual nasal swabs and pen oral fluids were collected daily. Viral RNA was tested for the presence of influenza by RRT-PCR and virus isolation attempted from oral fluids. A pen was considered positive if at least one nasal swab was positive. RESULTS: Based on nasal swab results, 43·8% of pens were detected positive but only 35% based on oral fluids. Overall sensitivity of oral fluids was 80%, and virus was isolated from 51% of RRT-PCR-positive oral fluids. The kappa coefficient for agreement (ĸ) between oral fluids and nasal swabs was 0·82. Among groups, ĸ was 1 (95% CI, 1-1), 0·74 (95% CI, 0·55-0·92), and 0·76 (95% CI, 0·5-1) for control, heterologous, and homologous-vaccinated groups, respectively. There was less agreement when within pen prevalence was 10% or less. Probability of detecting influenza virus in oral fluids was 99% when within pen prevalence was higher than 18% and decreased to 69% when prevalence was 9%. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated that pen-based collection of oral fluids is a sensitive method to detect influenza even when within pen prevalence is low and when pigs have been vaccinated and highlight the potential use of oral fluids for influenza surveillance.

Vaccination of influenza a virus decreases transmission rates in pigs.

Limited information is available on the transmission and spread of influenza virus in pig populations with differing immune statuses. In this study we assessed differences in transmission patterns and quantified the spread of a triple reassortant H1N1 influenza virus in naïve and vaccinated pig populations by estimating the reproduction ratio (R) of infection (i.e. the number of secondary infections caused by an infectious individual) using a deterministic Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model, fitted on experimental data. One hundred and ten pigs were distributed in ten isolated rooms as follows: (i) non-vaccinated (NV), (ii) vaccinated with a heterologous vaccine (HE), and (iii) vaccinated with a homologous inactivated vaccine (HO). The study was run with multiple replicates and for each replicate, an infected non-vaccinated pig was placed with 10 contact pigs for two weeks and transmission of influenza evaluated daily by analyzing individual nasal swabs by RT-PCR. A statistically significant difference between R estimates was observed between vaccinated and non-vaccinated pigs (p < 0.05). A statistically significant reduction in transmission was observed in the vaccinated groups where R (95%CI) was 1 (0.39-2.09) and 0 for the HE and the HO groups respectively, compared to an Ro value of 10.66 (6.57-16.46) in NV pigs (p < 0.05). Transmission in the HE group was delayed and variable when compared to the NV group and transmission could not be detected in the HO group. Results from this study indicate that influenza vaccines can be used to decrease susceptibility to influenza infection and decrease influenza transmission.