Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T02:14:42.096Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cold stress and post-weaning diarrhoea in piglets inoculated orally or by aerosol

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

C. M. Wathes ,
B. G. Miller  and
F. J. Bourne
C. M. Wathes
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Veterinary Science, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DU
B. G. Miller
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Veterinary Science, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DU
F. J. Bourne
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, School of Veterinary Science, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DU
Get access

Abstract

Three-week old piglets were subjected to two levels of moderate, chronic cold stress immediately post-weaning and inoculated orally or by aerosol with an enterotoxigenic strain of Escherichia coli. Oral challenge, as well as both piglet-produced and artificial aerosols of E. coli were capable of inducing infection. In infected animals, live-weight gain and food conversion efficiency were significantly worse at 15°C than at 20° or 30°C. The incidence and severity of diarrhoea was greatest at 15°C and least at 30°C, but only in those piglets fed ad libitum. Piglets fed at a restricted level kept at 15°C did not become infected or suffer a check in growth after inoculation.

In the absence of other risk factors, piglets kept at thermoneutrality are unlikely to suffer post-weaning diarrhoea even in the presence of an enterotoxigenic strain of E. coli. Diarrhoeic piglets did not exhibit the normal rise in food intake at temperatures below their thermoneutral zone. Traditionally, the design specification and control of the thermal environment in a piggery has been based on the performance of predominantly healthy pigs but the results of this study imply that the additional criterion of health can now be used.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 49 , Issue 3 , December 1989 , pp. 483 - 496
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Andersen, A. A. 1958. New sampler for the collection, sizing and enumeration of viable airborne particles. Journal of Bacteriology 76: 471–484.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Armstrong, W. D. and Cline, T. R. 1977. Effects of various nutrient levels and environmental temperatures on the incidence of colibacillary diarrhea in pigs: intestinal fistulation and titration studies. Journal of Animal Science 45: 1042–1050.Google Scholar
Blecha, F. and Kelley, K. W. 1981. Effects of cold and weaning stressors on the antibody-mediated immune response of pigs. Journal of Animal Science 53: 439–447.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clemmer, D. I., Hickey, J. L. S., Bridges, J. F., Schliessmann, D. J. and Shaffer, M. F. 1960. Bacteriological studies of experimental airborne salmonellosis in chicks. Journal of Infectious Diseases 106: 197–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Close, W. H. and Stanier, M. W. 1984. Effects of plane of nutrition and environmental temperature on the growth and development of the early-weaned piglet. I. Growth and body composition. Animal Production 38: 211–220.Google Scholar
Cox, C. S. 1987. The Aerobiological Pathway of Microorganisms. Wiley, Chichester.Google Scholar
Darlow, H. M., Bale, W. R. and Carter, G. B. 1961. Infection of mice by the respiratory route with Salmonella typhimurium. Journal of Hygiene 59: 303–308.Google Scholar
Dimmick, R. L. and Akers, A. B. 1969. Introduction to Experimental Aerobiology. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Feenstra, A. 1985. Effects of air temperature on weaned piglets. Pig News and Information 6: 295–299.Google Scholar
Graham, N. McC., Wainman, F. W., Blaxter, K. L. and Armstrong, D. G. 1959. Environmental temperature, energy metabolism and heat regulation in sheep. I. Energy metabolism in closely clipped sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 52: 13–24.Google Scholar
Kelley, K. W. 1980. Stress and immune function: a bibliographic review. Annales de Recherches Veterinaires 11: 445–478.Google Scholar
Kenworthy, R. and Allen, W. D. 1966. The significance of Escherichia coli to the young pig. Journal of Comparative Pathology 66: 31–44.Google Scholar
Lecce, J. G., Clare, D. A., Balsbaugh, R. H. and Collier, B. N. 1983. Effect of dietary regimen on rotavirus — Escherichia coli weanling diarrhoea of piglets. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 17: 689–695.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Le Dividich, J. 1981. Effects of environmental temperature on the growth rates of early-weaned piglets. Livestock Production Science 8: 75–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miles, A. A., Misra, S. S. and Irwin, J. O. 1938. The estimation of the bactericidal power of the blood. Journal of Hygiene 38: 732–749.Google Scholar
Miller, B. G., Newby, T. J., Stokes, C. R. and Bourne, F. J. 1984. Influence of diet on post-weaning malabsorption and diarrhoea in the pig. Research in Veterinary Science 36: 187–193.Google Scholar
Robertson, A. M., Clark, J. J. and Bruce, J. M. 1985. Observed energy intake of weaned piglets and its effect on temperature requirements. Animal Production 40: 475–479.Google Scholar
Shimizu, M., Shimizu, Y. and Kodama, Y. 1978. Effects of ambient temperatures on induction of transmissible gastroenteritis in feeder pigs. Infection and Immunity 21: 747–752.Google Scholar
Sokal, P. R. and Rohlf, F. J. 1981. Biometry. 2nd ed. Freeman, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Tannock, G. W. and Smith, J. M. B. 1971. A Salmonella carrier state of sheep following intranasal inoculation. Research in Veterinary Science 12: 371–373.Google Scholar
Taylor, D. J. 1986. Pig Diseases. 4th ed. Taylor, D. J., Glasgow.Google Scholar
Trillat, A. and Kaneko, R. 1921. Activite de l'infection par voie aerienne. Comptes Rendus de I'Académié des Sciences, Paris 173: 109.Google Scholar
Wathes, C. M. 1987. Airborne microorganisms in pig and poultry houses. In The Environmental Aspects of Respiratory Disease in Intensive Pig and Poultry Houses including the Implications for Human Health (ed. Bruce, J. M. and Sommer, M.), pp. 57–71. Commission of the European Communities, LuxembourgGoogle Scholar
Wathes, C. M., Howard, K. and Webster, A. J. F. 1986. The survival of Escherichia coli in an aerosol at air temperatures of 15 and 30°C and a range of humidities. Journal of Hygiene 97: 489–496.Google Scholar
Wathes, C. M., Zaidan, W. A. R., Pearson, G. R., Hinton, M. and Todd, N. 1988. Aerosol infection of calves and mice with Salmonella typhimurium. Veterinary Record 123: 590–594.Google ScholarPubMed
Webster, A. J. F. 1970. Environmental and physiological interactions influencing resistance to infectious disease. In Resistance to Infectious Disease (ed. Dunlop, R. H. and Moon, H. W.), pp. 61–80. Saskatoon Modern Press, Saskatoon.Google Scholar