Prevalence of latent zoonotic pathogens in the pork production chain at the herd level as well as the retail and consumer levels

• Research unit: FOAG
• Project number: 01.15

Key words (German)

Schweinefleisch, Schweineproduktion, Zoonosen, zoonotische Mikroorganismen, Zoonoseerreger, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Yersinia

Key words (English)

swine herds, swine production, zoonotic infections, Salmonella, Yersinia, Campylobacter

Short description (English)

Clinically healthy food animals can be reservoirs for various foodborne pathogens. In general, such animals do not have lesions that are visible during meat inspection. Pigs are considered to be carriers of salmonella, yersina, campylobacter and mycobacteria. The contributing factors of transmission of these agents to human through pork, however have not been determiated yet.

Project aims (English)

Pre-harvest epidemiology of zoonotic infections in swine herds:
1. Estimation of the prevalence of Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. and Yersina spp. on farms with different housing
systems and management practices.
2. Evaluation of test quality for serological testing on zoonotic agents at slaugther.
3. Identification of herd level factors associated with a high prevalence of infection with zoonotic pathogens.

Prevalence of zoonotic infections in pork: The study has the following objectives:
1. To determine the prevalence of Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. and Yersina spp. in pork at the retail level.
2. To compare prevalences of zoonotic agents in labeled pork to pork obtained from traditional productions systems.

Transfer and application (English)

- Report on prevalences of foodborne pathogens in pork
- Providing results for a comparison between organic farming and traditional housing systems

Knowlegde improvements / Publications (English)

- Damman D., Bahnson P. (1998): Controlling risk of Salmonella shedding on pig farms. Illinois Veterinary Bulletin 6 (2)
- Gobat P.F and Jemmi T. (1990): Epidemiological studies on Listeria spp. in slaugtherhouses. Fleischwirtsch. 70: 1448-1450
- Nielsen B. and Wegener H.C. (1997): Public Health and pork products: regional perspectives of Denmark. Rev. Sci. Tech.
Off. Int. Epiz. 16: 513-524
- Offermann U., Bodmer T., Audigé L. und Jemmi T. (1999): Verbreitung von Salmonellen, Yersinien und Mykobakterien bei
Schlachtschweinen in der Schweiz. Schweiz. Arch. Tierheilkunde (in press).

Process / State of work (German)

Projekt läuft bis 30. Juni 2003

Process / State of work (English)

The project will be finisheb by the 23rd of june 2003.