[Streptococcal infections as cause of death in pigs brought in for necropsy]

Abstract

Research was carried out into the prevalence of streptococcal types isolated from pigs that died of septicaemia, meningo-encephalitis, endocarditis, and pneumonia and which were brought in for investigation from 1 january 1988 to 31 December 1991. Cultures were prepared from the liver, spleen, kidneys, and brains of all animals and from the heart valves, joints, bronchi, and lungs of animals with pathological changes. The results are presented in six tables. As a group, streptococci were a major source of bacterial infection in septicaemia (38%), meningo-encephalitis (21%), and endocarditis (74%). Of the streptococcus types. Streptococcus suis type 2 was isolated the most often in sepsis (36%), meningo-encephalitis (52%), and endocarditis (36%). Streptococcus suis type 1 was found not only in piglets up to the age of weaning but also in older pigs and was a common pathogen in pigs with endocarditis. The discussion takes into consideration data from the literature. It is concluded that the significance of streptococcus infections, and those involving Streptococcus suis types 1 and 2 in particular, has increased under the influence of environmental and management factors (scaling-up of production, import of pigs from abroad, extermination and control of other pig diseases).