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Pig Journal Volume: 53
Publication date: May 2004

Proceedings Section

MEASURING THE IMPACT OF SALMONELLA CONTROL IN FINISHING PIGS - LESSONS FROM A PILOT STUDY
A.C.J. Cook

Abstract
Salmonella infection is relatively frequent in pigs slaughtered in British abattoirs and may represent a source of human infection. The UK pig industry launched the Zoonoses Action Plan Salmonella Monitoring Programme in 2002, which utilises the prevalence of pigs that are positive in a meat juice enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (MJ ELISA) to rank participating farms with respect to their salmonella status. A pilot study was conducted on twenty-two finisher farms contracted to one British company. Half of the farms implanted an enhanced hygiene and biosecurity programme whilst the remainder maintained their usual practices. The outcome was measured comparing firstly, the incidence of newly infected pens by repeated pooled faecal samples and secondly, the prevalence of MJ ELISA positive pigs. The intervention farms had a lower incidence of new pen infections and a lower prevalence of MJ ELISA positive pigs but the differences did not achieve statistical significance. However, the limited power of this small pilot study was further impacted by the strong farm-level cluster effect. The results were compatible with an important reduction in salmonella but this sample of farms was derived from a single company. A larger study is justified to determine whether a similar intervention programme would be beneficial for other finisher farms.

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