The concentration of apolipoprotein A-I decreases during experimentally induced acute-phase processes in pigs.

In this work, apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) was purified from pig sera. The responses of this protein after sterile inflammation and in animals infected with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae or Streptococcus suis were investigated. Decreases in the concentrations of ApoA-I, two to five times lower than the initial values, were observed at 2 to 4 days.

Plasma haptoglobin concentration in swine after challenge with Streptococcus suis.

Eight 15-week-old pigs, reared under specific pathogen-free conditions, were inoculated with Streptococcus suis serotype 2. The animals were monitored before and after challenge by measuring rectal temperature, recording specific clinical symptoms and collecting blood samples for haptoglobin determination. Twenty-four hours after infection, the average haptoglobin plasma concentration of the animal group increased significantly and reached a maximum 4 days post-inoculation, followed by a constant mean level until the end of the trial on day 10.

A PCR assay used to study aerosol transmission of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae from samples of live pigs under experimental conditions.

The study describes a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. The test is based on the amplification of the omlA gene coding for an outer membrane protein of A. pleuropneumoniae.

Experimental aerosol transmission of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae to pigs.

In order to demonstrate the possible role of aerosol in the transmission of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, an experiment including 18 specific pathogen-free (SPF), 10-week-old piglets, randomly distributed into 2 adjacent units, was carried out. In these facilities, air was forced through absolute filters to prevent any contact with infectious agents. During the first 6 d post inoculation, the 2 units were connected by a rectangular opening and the air circulation was forced by the ventilation system from unit A (inoculated pigs) to unit B (non-inoculated pigs).