Low-level colonization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pigs is maintained by slowly evolving, closely related strains in Finnish pig farms.

Background: Over the past two decades, livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) has become widely prevalent in pig production in Europe. The carriage status of LA-MRSA is known to vary among individual pigs, but bacterial load in pigs has rarely been studied. We assessed the quantity of LA-MRSA in nasal and skin samples of pigs and investigated the genetic diversity of the strains together with sequenced strains from national surveillance and pathology samples from the Finnish Food Authority.

Antimicrobial use, biosecurity, herd characteristics, and antimicrobial resistance in indicator Escherichia coli in ten Finnish pig farms.

We investigated connections between antimicrobial use (AMU), biosecurity, and the numbers of pigs and staff in ten Finnish farrow-to-finish herds. Data on AMU in each herd were collected for 12 months. AMU was quantified as treatment incidences per 1000 days at risk (TI) using the consensus defined daily dose calculation.

Host-Dependent Clustering of Strains From Small Mammals in Finland.

Small mammals are known to carry spp.; however, little is known about the genotypes and their role in human infections. We studied intestinal content from small wild mammals collected in their natural habitats in Finland in 2010-2017, and in close proximity to 40 pig or cattle farms in 2017.

The effects of amoxicillin treatment of newborn piglets on the prevalence of hernias and abscesses, growth and ampicillin resistance of intestinal coliform bacteria in weaned pigs.

This study investigated the effects of a single amoxicillin treatment of newborn piglets on the prevalence of hernias and abscesses until the age of nine weeks. We also studied whether the treatment was associated with growth and mortality, the need for treatment of other diseases, the proportions of ampicillin resistant coliforms and antimicrobial resistance patterns of intestinal Escherichia coli (E. coli).