Survival of pathogenic intestinal Spirochetes kept in pure cultures and in pig feces at four different temperatures
Emilio Santos Neves de Barcellos, DavidMathiesen, MichelleDuhamel, Gerald
Porcine colonic spirochetosis (PCS) caused by Brachyspira pilosicoli has been identified as a contributing cause of diarrhea and reduced performance of growing pigs in all major swine producing countries. The current view that transmission of PCS occurs through contamination of the environment by acutely or persistently infected pigs is based on the assumption that the spirochetes remain viable in the environment. The purpose of this study was to compare the viability of Brachyspira pilosicoli kept in pure culture or mixed with feces at four different temperatures over time with that of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae. The results of the present study indicated that Brachyspira pilosicoli survived significantly longer than Brachyspira hyodysenteriae in pure cultures held at 24C and 37C, and at all temperatures in spiked fecal materials. Pure cultures of Brachyspira pilosicoli survived at least 63 days at -70C, seven days at 4C, 14 to 28 days at 24C and seven to 28 days at 37C. There was significant differences in the survival of the 2 species of spirochetes when mixed with feces. At -70C, Brachyspira pilosicoli and Brachyspira hyodysenteriae survived respectively an average of 21 and 3 days, and at 4C 12,25 and 4,25 days. Viability was reduced to one to seven days at 24C and one to three days at 37C for Brachyspira pilosicoli and five days at 24C and one day at
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