Publication Database

Colonisation of Clostridioides difficile in piglets of sows fed different dietary fibres (2023)

Art

Vortrag

Autoren

Grześkowiak, Łukasz (WE 4)

Vahjen, Wilfried (WE 4)

Zentek, Jürgen (WE 4)

Kongress

IV International Latin American Clostridioides difficile Symposium (ILACDS)

Rio de Janeiro, Brasilien, 06. – 08.11.2023

Quelle

Sprache

Englisch

Kontakt

Institut für Tierernährung

Königin-Luise-Str. 49
14195 Berlin
+49 30 838 52256
tierernaehrung@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Background:
Clostridioides difficile is one of the pioneer colonisers in neonatal piglets and is involved in spontaneous C. difficile-infections [1]. The sow’s diet including dietary fibre has a potential to modulate their gut microbiota. This can subsequently influence the gut microbiota in their offspring [2].
Objectives: To investigate if sows’ diet rich in either high- or low-fermentable fibre during gestation and lactation differently influences C. difficile colonisation in piglets.

Methods:
Twenty sows were fed experimental gestation and lactation diets enriched with either 15% sugar beet pulp (SBP, n=10) or 15% lignocellulose (LNC; n=10). Faecal DNA extracts from sows collected at baseline, 60, 30 and 7 days ante-partum, at farrowing and 7 days post-partum, and from 2 suckling piglets per sow collected weekly until weaning (~28d) were subjected to qPCR for C. difficile. Toxin B was assessed by a commercial ELISA kit. One day post-partum, swabs from the pen floor, piglet’s skin, sow’s teats, rectum and vagina were assessed for C. difficile ribotypes (PCR-ribotyping). Data were analysed using Mann-Whitney-U-test in SPSS. Trial approval: LAGeSo Reg. G0112/19.

Results:
In the sows, C. difficile was detected at all sampling points (log10 ~5.0 copy number/g faeces). In one-week-old piglets, C. difficile concentration was higher in LNC vs. SBP group (log10 7.6±0.3 vs. 6.1±0.2 copy number/g faeces, p=0.001) and trends for such differences were followed in 14- and 21-day-old piglets (p=0.095, p=0.078, respectively). In one-week-old piglets, toxin B was highly prevalent in LNC vs. SBP group (60.0 vs. 16.7%, p=0.009). The swabs obtained from all the sources carried C. difficile ribotype 078.
Conclusions: Modulation of the sow’s diet seems to be a promising tool to influence the susceptibility to colonisation by C. difficile in suckling piglets. Sows are most likely the inoculum of C. difficile to their offspring and on the farm environment.

Funding:
German Research Foundation (DFG), Grant GR 5107/2-1.
References: [1] Songer et al., J. Vet. Diagnostic Investig. 2005; [2] Grześkowiak et al., Anim. Heal. Res. Rev. 2023.