Medical Supplies – Medical Products

Atrophic rhinitis (AR) is a widespread and economically important disease of swine caused by Bordetella bronchiseptica and Pasteurella multocida. It can be controlled by vaccination. This study investigates the effect of altering the composition (adjuvants and/or addition of formalin-inactivated P. multocida toxin, fPMT) of conventional vaccines on the serological profile and on protection against AR in swine. A significantly higher B. bronchiseptica specific antibody titre was detected for vaccines with novel immunostimulants, the best being Montanide IMS 1313 (1:630 compared to 1:274 obtained with alum). The highest B. bronchiseptica antibody titre was demonstrated for a combination of B. bronchiseptica – fPMT, while PMT antibody titre was highest for monovalent fPMT (both adjuvanted with IMS 1313). The AR-specific antibodies were transmitted from dams to their offspring in similar titres and with the same hierarchy of effectiveness. After a B. bronchiseptica-P. multocida bacterial challenge, piglets from dams vaccinated with fPMT combined with B. bronchiseptica or B. bronchiseptica-P. multocida bacterins showed the lowest nasal lesions scores (4.5 and 3.2, respectively, out of a possible maximum score of 18). These combinations, both of which were adjuvanted with IMS 1313, gave the best protection against experimentally induced AR. Our results show that the adjuvant and the antigen composition of the vaccine strongly affect seroconversion, and that the AR-specific antibody titre does not necessarily correlate with the degree of protection.

Magyar, T.　Donko, T.　Kovacs, F.
Veterinary Medical Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-1581 Budapest, P.O. Box 18, Hungary.

The presence of the vanA gene was determined in enterococci from healthy poultry, originating from the Hungarian resistance monitoring system between 2001 and 2004. Enterococci (n=562) were collected from intestinal samples of slaughtered broiler chickens. The presence of van genes was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) strains carried only the vanA gene. Genus- and species-level identification of the vanA gene carrier strains was carried out by PCR using specific primers. In 2001, 25 out of the 289 isolated strains (8.6%) were vanA carriers (1 Enterococcus mundtii, 13 E. durans and 11 E. faecium). In 2002 (n=87), 20 (23%) strains were vanA positive (11 E. durans and 9 E. faecium). In 2003 and 2004, none of the strains (n=95 and 91, respectively) were positive for the most common van genes. In 2003, there was only one strain for which higher minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of vancomycin (4 mg/L) and teicoplanin (8 mg/L) were found. In 2004 there were three strains for which the MIC of vancomycin was 8 mg/L, and 2 strains and 1 strain with teicoplanin MICs of 4 mg/L and 8 mg/L, respectively. The potential similarity of these strains was studied by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The VRE strains were not closely related to one another. The annual data of vancomycin resistance indicate an association between the recovery of vancomycin-resistant enterococci and the use of avoparcin in animal feeds. This study indicates that with the reduced use of antibiotics in food animals, it is possible to decrease the rate of resistant bacteria. Although the use of avoparcin had been banned in 1998, the VRE strains disappeared only five years later.

Ghidan, A.　Kaszanyitzky, EJ　Dobay, O.　Nagy, K.　Amyes, S. GB　Rozgonyi, F.
Institute of Medical Microbiology, Semmelweis University, H-1089 Budapest, Nagyvarad ter 4, Hungary.
2008,no3

This study was conducted to determine the genetic characteristics of DT104 strains of Salmonella Typhimurium and the prevalence of Salmonella Genomic Island (SGI1) in Hungary. A total of 140 recent Salmonella strains of food and animal origin were examined. Results revealed that the SGI1 was found in 17 of 59 S. Typhimurium isolates (all proven to be DT104 phage type) for the first time in Hungary. These 17 strains were then subtyped by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) into 6 pulsotypes which were less correlated with the geographic origin than with the animal species of origin.

Fekete, PZ　Nagy, B.
Veterinary Medical Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-1143 Budapest, Hungaria krt. 21, Hungary.

It is known that bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract in significant quantities. However, the question remained whether oral LPS modified the structure or function of the gut. This study was conducted to determine the effect of Escherichia coli O83 LPS administered to growing rats in repeated oral doses of 400 mg/kg body weight every 8 h. After three days of treatment, the morphometric and histochemical examinations of the small intestine did not show significant differences between treated and control rats. It is concluded that repeated oral administration of high doses of E. coli O83 LPS had no demonstrable effect on intestinal structure and cell proliferation in a rat model.

Illyes, G.　Kovacs, K.　Kocsis, B.　Baintner, K.
2nd Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.