Search

Simple Summary: Abattoir lung lesion scoring is a common practice to assess the impact of respiratory diseases in pig production, but whether the information obtained could be used to optimize antimicrobial stewardship programs has rarely been investigated. In this study, lung and pleural scores collected at slaughter from Italian heavy pigs were compared with on-farm antimicrobial use during the six months prior to slaughtering. Lung scores were positively associated with the past use of antimicrobials considered critical for human medicine, suggesting that batches with worse scores may have been unsuccessfully treated with first-choice antimicrobials. This result emphasizes the role of abattoirs as strategic observatories for pig respiratory diseases, which may also be helpful for antimicrobial stewardship. The information obtained could provide useful feedback aiding the identification of gaps in biosecurity or inadequate vaccination plans, thus helping to reduce on-farm antimicrobial use. Respiratory diseases significantly affect intensive pig finishing farms, causing production losses and increased antimicrobial use (AMU). Lesion scoring at slaughter has been recognized as a beneficial practice to evaluate herd management. The integrated analysis of abattoir lesion scores and AMU data could improve decision-making by providing feedback to veterinarians and farmers on the effectiveness of antimicrobial treatments, thus rationalizing their use. This study compared lung and pleural lesion scores collected at Italian pig slaughterhouses with on-farm AMU, estimated through a treatment index per 100 days (TI100). Overall, 24,752 pig carcasses, belonging to 236 batches from 113 finishing farms, were inspected. Bronchopneumonia and chronic pleuritis were detected in 55% and 48% of the examined pigs, respectively. Antimicrobials were administered in 97% of the farms during the six months prior to slaughter (median TI100 = 5.2), notwithstanding compliance with the mandatory withdrawal period. EMA category B (critical) antimicrobials were administered in 15.2% of cases (median TI100 = 0.06). The lung score was not associated with the total AMU, but significant, positive associations were found with the past use of critical antimicrobials (p = 0.041) and macrolides (p = 0.044). This result highlights the potential of abattoir lung lesion monitoring to rationalize antimicrobial stewardship efforts, contributing to AMU reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Lung lesions, which are common findings in finisher pigs, are considered useful indicators of animal health and welfare at the slaughterhouse. Several methods for evaluating such lesions have been developed, and selecting the best system is critical for obtaining reliable and consistent data. In this view, the aim of this study was to compare two well-known scoring methods (Madec and Blaha methods) using data on lung lesions collected by two operators in an Italian high-throughput abattoir under routine slaughter conditions. Overall, there was a satisfactory level of agreement between the two methods, although a discrepancy in accurately recognizing healthy lungs and minor injuries between the two systems has been observed. According to our results, the Blaha method is a visual-only system applicable to very large abattoirs. It can be easily used to provide an overview of the respiratory health status of pigs, although it can yield a higher percentage of false negative results. On the other hand, the Madec method can provide more detailed results but would be more challenging to use for continuous monitoring in large abattoirs because it requires both visual and palpation assessments. Respiratory diseases continue to pose significant challenges in pig production, and the assessment of lung lesions at the abattoir can provide valuable data for epidemiological investigations and disease surveillance. The evaluation of lung lesions at slaughter is a relatively simple, fast, and straightforward process but variations arising from different abattoirs, observers, and scoring methods can introduce uncertainty; moreover, the presence of multiple scoring systems complicates the comparisons of different studies, and currently, there are limited studies that compare these systems among each other. The objective of this study was to compare validated, simplified, and standardized schemes for assessing surface-related lung lesions in slaughtered pigs and analyze their reliability under field conditions. This study was conducted in a high-throughput abattoir in Italy, where two different scoring methods (Madec and Blaha) were benchmarked using 637 plucks. Statistical analysis revealed a good agreement between the two methods when severe or medium lesions were observed; however, their ability to accurately identify healthy lungs and minor injuries diverged significantly. These findings demonstrate that the Blaha method is more suitable for routine surveillance of swine respiratory diseases, whereas the Madec method can give more detailed and reliable results for the respiratory and welfare status of the animals at the farm level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to assess the level of microbial contamination and resistance of bacteria isolated from a highthroughput heavy pig slaughterhouse (approx. 4600 pigs/day) towards antimicrobials considered as critical for human, veterinary or both chemotherapies. Samples, pre-operative and operative, were obtained in 4 different surveys. These comprised environmental sampling, i.e. air (ntotal = 192) and surfaces (ntotal = 32), in four different locations. Moreover, a total of 40 carcasses were sampled in two different moments of slaughtering following Reg. (CE) 2073/2005. Overall, 60 different colonies were randomly selected from VRBGA plates belonging to 20 species, 15 genera and 10 families being Enterobacteriaceae, Moraxellaceae and Pseudomonadaceae the most represented ones. Thirty-seven isolates presented resistance to at least one molecule and seventeen were classified as multi-drug resistant. Enterobacteriaceae, particularly E. coli, displayed high MIC values towards trimethoprim, ampicillin, tetracycline and sulphametoxazole with MICmax of 16, 32, 32 and 512 mg/L, respectively. Moreover, isolated Pseudomonas spp. showed high MIC values in critical antibiotics such as ampicillin and azithromycin with MICmax of 32 and 64 mg/L, respectively. Additionally, in vitro biofilm formation assays demonstrated that fifteen of these isolates can be classified as strong biofilm formers. Results demonstrated that a high diversity of bacteria containing antibiotic resistant and multiresistant species is present in the sampled abattoir. Considering these findings, it could be hypothesised that the processing environment could be a potential diffusion determinant of antibiotic resistant bacteria through the food chain and operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The use of monitoring schemes to determine the health and welfare status of animals at the abattoir level provides useful feedbacks to farmers and to all those involved in the activities carried out before slaughtering. Bruises are considered welfare indicators in cattle carcasses, as they represent a sign of improper handling or management executed during the pre-slaughter phases. The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of bruises in beef cattle at the slaughterhouse and to determine their correlation with factors linked to animal transport. The 21.6% of the animals included in the study had bruises, which were mainly characterized by being red, small and located in one region. Steers had less probability of presenting bruises compared to the other categories, while animals transported in the condition of a high space allowance had more chance of presenting bruises. Even though more studies are needed, the results of this study have shown that the assessment of bruises on cattle carcasses could reflect some welfare issues occurring during pre-slaughter activities. These data can be used to improve specific procedures and to boost cattle welfare. The assessment of bruises on carcasses at the slaughterhouse has been lately indicated as a valid method to evaluate cattle welfare. However, little is known about the prevalence and the causes of bruises of cattle slaughtered in Italy. The aim of this study was to collect information concerning the prevalence of bruises on the carcasses of beef cattle slaughtered in an Italian abattoir and to determine a relationship between fresh bruises and transport-related factors. In total, 1265 animals were included in this study, with 21.6% of them being positive for at least one bruise, either fresh or old. In most cases, the bruising was mild, with lesions exclusively located in one area of the carcass. Most of the bruised animals (63%) showed at least one red lesion. Occurrence of such red, fresh bruises varied significantly depending on the body parts (p < 0.0001), with the flank being the most affected area (39.5%), followed by the butt (36.0%) and the front (23.8%). The probability of fresh bruising varied significantly depending on the category of each animal (p < 0.0001), with steers showing fewer red bruises than both heifers and veal. Finally, animals transported in conditions of a high density had a lower probability of bruising (p = 0.0003). These findings support the use of a monitoring scheme based on the presence of bruises to assess cattle welfare at the abattoir level in order to provide feedback to farmers and to implement procedures carried out during transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this survey was to obtain data on microbiological contamination of pig carcasses and environments in three large-scale Italian slaughterhouses (identified as A-B-C) located in Northern Italy. Each slaughterhouse was visited six times. Five carcasses and three different sites of the slaughterhouse (before and during slaughter) were sampled on each sampling day. A single pooled caecal sample was taken on each sampling day. A total of 90 carcasses, 108 environmental samples and 18 caecal samples were collected. Samples from pig carcasses and slaughterhouse environment were analyzed for total viable count (TVC), Enterobacteriaceae count (EBC) and Salmonella. The caecal contents were examined for Salmonella. Carcasses from slaughterhouse A presented the greatest TVC and EBC mean log value, whereas environmental samples collected during slaughter activities from slaughterhouse C showed the greatest TVC and EBC mean log value. As far as the environmental samples collected before slaughter activities are concerned, an average up to 6 log10 colony forming unit (CFU)/cm2 TVC in two slaughter plants (A and C) and 5 log10 CFU/cm2 TVC in one slaughter plant (B) was detected. Salmonella was recovered in two slaughterhouses (A and B). Four different Salmonella serotypes were detected in the positive samples (11). Within serotype S. Rissen and S. Typhimurium monophasic-variant isolates, two pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns were identified. The findings in this survey suggest that carcass contamination is influenced by the slaughterhouse plant and this could be a result of differences in line speed. The results of environmental sampling have not shown an association with the slaughterhouse plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Inspections of pigs before (antemortem) and after (postmortem) being slaughtered are part of the official controls carried out in European abattoirs. The ability of data obtained from the antemortem inspections to predict lesions eventually found during postmortem inspections has not been thoroughly investigated so far. In this study, data obtained from inspections performed both ante- and postmortem in heavy pigs slaughtered in Italy were analyzed, determining the prevalence of the most common lesions and conditions found during the ante- and postmortem inspections and exploring the correlation between these findings. The most common findings were the presence of manure on more than the 30% of the body and pleurisy for antemortem and postmortem inspections, respectively. Some conditions found during the antemortem inspections were predictive of lesions reported during postmortem inspections. For instance, respiratory and kidney lesions were more likely to occur in pigs presenting manure on more than the 30% of the body, whereas dermatitis and skin wounds were more likely to be present in pigs showing skin lesions during the antemortem inspections. The results of this study show that information obtained from the antemortem inspection of pigs can be useful to characterize farms using a risk-based approach and to address the organization of official controls in slaughterhouses. Pigs slaughtered in European abattoirs must be submitted to antemortem inspection (AMI) and postmortem inspection (PMI), as required by the current European legislation in the matter of official controls. AMI and PMI are equally essential to guarantee food safety and to monitor swine health and welfare. However, little is known about the ability of AMI to predict conditions that are possibly found during PMI. In this study, such a correlation was explored together with the assessment of conditions typically found during AMI and PMI in heavy pigs slaughtered in two Italian slaughterhouses. An assessment scheme containing 13 variables for AMI and 34 lesions for PMI was used for the scope. The herd size was also considered as a variable and included in the study. A total of 24,510 pigs and 30,961 pigs were assessed during AMI and PMI, respectively. The most common conditions found were manure on the body covering more than 30% of the body (dirt >30%) and pluck lesions ('pleurisy', 'pericarditis', and 'pneumonia') for AMI and PMI, respectively. A significant correlation (p < 0.05) between some antemortem (AM) findings and postmortem (PM) conditions was found. In particular, the AM conditions 'dirt >30%'and 'skin lesions' were positively related with PM conditions 'skin wounds' and 'dermatitis', while the complexes of respiratory and kidney lesions were predicted only by the condition 'dirt >30%'. The variable 'standardized herd size' was negatively associated with 'milk spot liver' and positively associated with 'arthritis/bursitis'. The results of this study show that findings reported during AMI can potentially be used to predict certain conditions found in pigs at PMI. These data can be useful for the competent authorities in characterizing swine farms using a risk-based approach and in developing systems and specific plans for official controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The welfare of pigs is a major concern among some consumers and pig producers. This concern has driven welfare specialists into the validation of methods and protocols that can be used to evaluate the welfare status of pigs on farms. These protocols require the use of animal-, management and resource-based measures, although data collected from the animals are generally considered more useful. However, due to some limitations, these schemes are not always applicable; therefore, the use of simplified schemes involving the collection of data from pigs at the slaughterhouse has been advocated. Methods and scoring schemes recently described and used in studies performed in European slaughterhouses to determine pig welfare and health are reviewed in the present manuscript. A focus on the scoring schemes for lesions of the body and viscera during post-mortem activities at the abattoir is provided. These methods can be used to benchmark a welfare scheme suitable for all European competent authorities and professionals working in the context of pig welfare. The assessment of swine welfare requires feasible, reliable, and reasonable indicators. On-farm evaluation of pig welfare can provide valuable information to veterinarians and farmers. However, such protocols can result expensive and time-consuming. With this regard, an interest in the appraisal of swine welfare at abattoir has grown over the recent years. In particular, the use of certain lesions collected directly from slaughtered animals to determine the welfare status of pigs has been evaluated by several authors. In the present review, the different methods developed to score lesions collected directly from the body and the viscera of animals slaughtered in European abattoirs ("abattoir-based measures") are presented. The text specifically focuses on the methods currently available in the literature for the scoring of body, pluck and gastric lesions during post-mortem activities. Moreover, the strengths and weaknesses of abattoir-based measures schemes are discussed. To conclude, the future perspectives of the assessment of pig welfare at the slaughterhouse are described, appealing for a benchmarking system that can be systematically used by veterinarians and other professional figures involved in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]