PARTNER FEATURE ▶▶▶
Probiotics and enteric pathogens in young pigs
Among mammals, the pig is one of the most immature species at birth. The body energy deposits are very low, and female reproductive organs are not fully developed. As a consequence, nutrient intake and retention are important, not only for survival of the young piglet but also for growth and later potential reproduction performance.
BY JENS NOESGAARD JØRGENSEN, CHR. HANSEN C
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hallenges for young pigs are plentiful: a limited nu- trient supply due to depressed sow milk production, no creep feed intake or low litter rank order. All may lead to starvation and a “hungry gut”. The young pig
can also be challenged by having immature gut microbiota that are volatile in microbial species composition, which in- creases the likelihood of dysbiosis – an overgrowth of enteric pathogens leading to loose faeces, unthriftiness and medical treatments. Dysbiosis and loose faeces can have a nutritional origin, but they are typically caused by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F4 and F18. The two ETECs are most often seen pre- and post-weaning, respectively.
Trial in Italy: Counteracting challenges Probiotics are a science-based and research-proven manage- ment tool available to counteract these enteric challenges.
How they can counteract the adverse impact of the E. coli F4 was investigated at the University of Bologna, Italy, where two new probiotic strains, probiotic A and B, were fed to pigs weaned at day 24 of life. The pigs were put on a three-week trial and challenged with an F4 inoculation on day 7. They were divided into four groups: control (no medication of pro- biotics fed), probiotic A, probiotic B, and colistin (medication). The trial was to test the efficacy of the two strains. The F4-challenged piglets without any supplementation of colistin or probiotics obtained a faecal score corresponding to the presence of diarrhoea, while the F4-challenged piglets supplemented with colistin had a score indicating a normal firm faeces. There was a clear difference between the two probiotic strains applied. Strain A had no improving impact on faecal score in the study, while probiotic strain B showed an improvement in the faecal scoring similar to that of colistin. At the end of the study, the piglets were sacrificed and intes- tinal tissue was used to examine the mitotic index, which re- flects the proportion of epithelia cells that are undergoing cell division. The higher mitotic index value, the faster the re- covery of the epithelia after an infection. Colistin and probiot- ic strain B supplementation improved the mitotic index significantly and to the same degree. The results indicate that probiotic strain B can enhance the capability of the epithelia to regenerate after an F4 exposure, and this may be the reason for the short scouring period post-challenge. Mortality in the study was in line with both
Figure 1 - Trans- and paracellular permeability in jejunum from piglets in control, F18 challenged and F18 challenged + probiotic strain B groups at day 5 and 11 post-inoculation.
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