Invasive Bacterial Infections of the Musculoskeletal and Central Nervous System during Pig Rearing: Detection Frequencies of Different Pathogens and Specific Genotypes.

Locomotor and central nervous system disorders occur during pig rearing, but there is no systematic recording of the different causative agents in Germany. Joint and meningeal swabs, kidneys, lungs, and eight different lymph nodes per pig were cultured, and isolated pathogens were identified using polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). The and pathotype of () isolates were determined using multiplex-PCR. was the most important pathogen in the infected joints (70.8%) and meningeal swabs (85.4%) and was most frequently detected in both sites in suckling and weaning piglets. To elucidate the possible portal of entry of , eight different lymph nodes from 201 pigs were examined in a prospective study. was detected in all examined lymph nodes ( = 1569), including the mesenteric lymph nodes (15.8%; = 121/765), with 9 (37.2%; = 147) and 2 (24.3%; = 96) being the most dominating types. In piglets with a systemic infection, different lymph nodes are frequently infected with the invasive strain, which does not help clarify the portal of entry for .