Assessment of antibodies against three zoonotic bacteria and associated risk factors in pig farms in Colombia.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Salmonella spp., Mycobacterium bovis and Brucella spp., together with associated risk factors, in pigs from various farms in seven regions of Colombia. A total of 350 blood samples were obtained from pigs at different stages in the production cycle of 23 farms, which were tested using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) diagnostic kits Pigtype®-Salmonella Ab (Qiagen®, Hilden, Germany), INgezim TB porcine and INgezim Brucella porcine (Ingenasa®, Madrid, Spain). The overall seroprevalence for Salmonella spp. was 42.85% (n = 150) and, for M. bovis, it was 5.42% (n = 19). No positive samples were detected for Brucella spp. In the farms evaluated, the presence of pests, such as rodents, was found to be the management variable with a statistically significant association with seropositivity for Salmonella spp. and M. bovis. The results suggest that, at some point in the primary production cycle, pigs came into contact with zoonotic bacteria, resulting in seropositivity, which may pose a risk to public health and national pig production.