Identification of Brucella spp. in feral swine (Sus scrofa) at abattoirs in Texas, USA

Authors

Kerri Pedersen, APHISFollow
N. E. Bauer, USDA Food Safety Inspection Service
S. Olsen, USDA, Agricultural Research Service
A. M. Arenas-Gamboa, Texas A&M University
A. C. Henry, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services
T. D. Sibley, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services
T. Gidlewski, USDA APHIS Wildlife ServicesFollow

ORCID IDs

0000-0002-2980-9618

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2017

Citation

Zoonoses Public Health. 2017;64:647–654.

Comments

Copyright Pedersen et al.

This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

DOI: 10.1111/zph.12359

Abstract

Various tissues, nasal swabs, urine and blood samples were collected from 376 feral swine at two federally inspected abattoirs in Texas during six separate sampling periods in 2015. Samples were tested for Brucella spp. by culture and serology. Brucella spp. were cultured from 13.0% of feral swine, and antibodies were detected in 9.8%. Only 32.7% of culture-positive feral swine were also antibody positive, and 43.2% of antibody-positive feral swine were culture positive. Approximately, the same number of males (14.0%) and females (12.1%) were culture positive, and slightly more males (10.5%) than females (8.7%) were antibody positive. Our results indicate that serology likely underestimates the prevalence of feral swine infected, and that those who come in contact with feral swine should be aware of the symptoms of infection with Brucella spp. to ensure prompt treatment.