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Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic pathogen of swine involved in arthritis, polyserositis, and meningitis. Colonization of piglets by S. suis is very common and occurs early in life. The clinical outcome of infection is influenced by the virulence of the S. suis strains and the immunity of the animals. Here, the role of innate immunity was studied in cesarean-derived colostrum-deprived piglets inoculated intranasally with either virulent S. suis strain 10 (S10) or non-virulent S. suis strain T15. Colonization of the inoculated piglets was confirmed at the end of the study by PCR and immunohistochemistry. Fever (≥40.5 °C) was more prevalent in piglets inoculated with S10 compared to T15 at 4 h after inoculation. During the 3 days of monitoring, no other major clinical signs were detected. Accordingly, only small changes in transcription of genes associated with the antibacterial innate immune response were observed at systemic sites, with S10 inducing an earlier response than T15 in blood. Local inflammatory response to the inoculation, evaluated by transcriptional analysis of selected genes in nasal swabs, was more sustained in piglets inoculated with the virulent S10, as demonstrated by transcription of inflammation-related genes, such as IL1B , IL1A , and IRF7 . In contrast, most of the gene expression changes in trachea, lungs, and associated lymph nodes were observed in response to the non-virulent T15 strain. Thus, S. suis colonization in the absence of systemic infection induces an innate immune response in piglets that appears to be related to the virulence potential of the colonizing strain.

Medicated feed is a common strategy to control the occurrence of Streptococcus suis disease in swine production, but feed additives may constitute an alternative to metaphylaxis. In a farm with post-weaning S. suis disease, the following additives were tested: lysozyme (Lys), medium chain fatty acids plus lysozyme (FA + Lys), FA plus a natural anti-inflammatory (FA + antiinf) and amoxicillin (Amox). During the course of the study, FA + antiinf and Amox groups showed lower prevalence of clinical signs compatible with S. suis disease than the rest of the groups. Piglets from the FA + antiinf group showed high diversity and richness in their nasal and faecal microbiota. Diet supplements did not have major effects on the faecal microbiota, where the genus Mitsuokella was the only differentially present in the FA + Lys group. In the nasal microbiota, piglets from FA + antiinf presented higher differential abundance of a sequence variant from Ruminococcaceae and lower abundance of an unclassified genus from Weeksellaceae . In general, we detected more significant changes in the nasal than in the feacal microbiota, and found that parity of the dams affected the microbiota composition of their offspring, with piglets born to gilts exhibiting lower richness and diversity. Our results suggest that additives could be useful to control post-weaning disease when removing antimicrobials in farms.

The economic assessment of animal diseases is essential for decision-making, including the allocation of resources for disease control. However, that assessment is usually hampered by the lack of reliable data on disease incidence, or treatment and control measures, and that is particularly true for swine production diseases, such as infections caused by Streptococcus suis . Therefore, we deployed a questionnaire survey of clinical swine veterinarians to obtain the input data needed for a stochastic model to calculate the costs caused by S. suis , which was implemented in three of the main swine producing countries in Europe: Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. S. suis -associated disease is endemic in those countries in all production phases, though nursery was the phase most severely impacted. In affected nursery units, between 3.3 and 4.0% of pigs had S. suis -associated disease and the mortalities ranged from 0.5 to 0.9%. In Germany, the average cost of S. suis per pig (summed across all production phases) was 1.30 euros (90% CI: 0.53–2.28), in the Netherlands 0.96 euros (90% CI: 0.27–1.54), and in Spain 0.60 euros (90% CI: 0.29–0.96). In Germany, that cost was essentially influenced by the expenditure in early metaphylaxis in nursery and in autogenous vaccines in sows and nursery pigs; in the Netherlands, by expenditure on autogenous vaccines in sows and nursery pigs; and in Spain, by the expenditures in early metaphylaxis and to a lesser extent by the mortality in nursery pigs. Therefore, the differences in costs between countries can be explained to a great extent by the measures to control S. suis implemented in each country. In Spain and in Germany, use of antimicrobials, predominantly beta-lactams, is still crucial for the control of the disease.

Streptococcus ruminantium is a recent reclassification of the former Streptococcus suis serovar 33. Although knowledge about S. suis is extensive, information on S. ruminantium host range and pathogenic potential is still scarce. This bacterium has been isolated from lesions in domestic ruminants, but there are no reports in wild animals. Here, we provide information on lesions associated with S. ruminantium in Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica) and domestic sheep from NE Spain, as well as phenotypic biopatterns and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of the isolates. Overall, lesions caused by S. ruminantium were similar to those caused by S. suis, excluding polyserositis. Heterogeneity of the phenotypic profiles was observed within the S. ruminantium strains by VITEK-2, resulting in only two tests common to all S. ruminantium isolates and different from S. suis: Alpha-Galactosidase and Methyl-B-D-Glucopyranoside, both positive for S. suis and negative for S. ruminantium strains. Isolates from Pyrenean chamois were susceptible to all antimicrobials tested, except danofloxacin, whereas the domestic sheep isolate was resistant to tetracycline. In conclusion, S. ruminantium can cause infection and be associated with pathology in both wild and domestic ruminants. Due to its phenotypic diversity, a specific PCR is optimal for identification in routine diagnosis.

Glaesserella (Haemophilus) parasuis, an early colonizer of the nasal cavity in piglets, is a highly heterogeneous species, comprising both commensal and virulent strains. Virulent G. parasuis strains can cause fibrinous polyserositis called Glässer’s disease. Colostrum is a source of passive immunity for young piglets. When vaccinating sows, protective antibodies are transferred to their offspring through the colostrum. Here, sow vaccination was performed with a protein fragment, F4, from the outer membrane trimeric autotransporters VtaAs exclusively found in virulent G. parasuis. Piglets were allowed to suckle for 3 weeks, following which a challenge with two virulent strains of G. parasuis was performed. A group of nonvaccinated sows and their piglets were included as a control. Antibodies against F4 were confirmed using ELISA in the vaccinated sows and their offspring before the G. parasuis challenge. Compared to the control group, F4-vaccination also resulted in an increased level of serum TGF-β both in vaccinated sows and in their offspring at early time points of life. After the challenge, a lower body temperature and a higher weight were observed in the group of piglets from vaccinated sows. One piglet from the non-vaccinated group succumbed to the infection, but no other significant differences in clinical signs were noticed. At necropsy, performed 2 weeks after the virulent challenge, the level of surfactant protein D (SP-D) in bronchoalveolar lavage was higher in the piglets from vaccinated sows. Vaccination did not inhibit the nasal colonization of the piglets by the challenge strains.

Introduction Streptoccocus suis is a Gram-positive opportunistic pathogen causing systemic disease in piglets around weaning age. Outbreaks of S. suis disease are controlled by metaphylactic use of antibiotics, leading to high levels of antimicrobial resistance in S. suis isolates. This is an issue for both animal and human health due to the zoonotic disease potential of S. suis. The mechanisms facilitating invasive disease are not known but may involve host and environmental factors. The palatine tonsils are considered a portal of entry for pathogenic strains to cause systemic disease. We hypothesised that tonsil colonization by pathogenic and commensal bacteria may impact on disease risk via colonization resistance and co-infections. We conducted a case-control study on 9 European farms, comparing the tonsil microbiome of piglets with S. suis systemic disease with asymptomatic controls. We also compared these to piglets on control farms and piglets reared naturally in a forest. Results We found a small but significant difference in the tonsil microbiota composition of case and control piglets. Case-control associations varied between amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) within the same species. Variants of putatively commensal taxa including Rothia nasimurium were reduced in abundance in case piglets compared to asymptomatic controls. Case piglets had higher relative abundance of Fusobacterium gastrosuis, Bacteroides heparinolyticus, and uncultured Prevotella and Alloprevotella species. There was, however, no higher abundance of S. suis itself at the species-level or of clinical strain marker genes in case piglets. Piglets sampled prospectively weeks prior to developing clinical signs had reduced microbiota alpha diversity. Despite case-control pairs receiving equal antimicrobial treatment, case piglets had higher abundance of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) conferring resistance to antimicrobial classes used to treat S. suis. Conclusions The tonsillar microbiota of S. suis case piglets had increased abundance of taxa not previously linked to S. suis disease. This coincided with increased ARG abundance in case piglets, possibly due to adaptation of the disease-associated microbiota to frequent antimicrobial treatment. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.