Prevalence and Risk Factors for Bacterial Food-Borne Zoonotic Hazards in Slaughter Pigs: A Review

• Published in: Zoonoses and public health Vol. 56; no. 8; pp. 429 - 454
• Main Authors: Fosse, J, Seegers, H, Magras, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-10-2009; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Wiley
• Subjects: animal husbandry; animal pathogenic bacteria; Animals; antibiotics; Bacteria; bacterial infections; biosecurity; Campylobacter; disease detection; disease diagnosis; disease prevalence; Disease transmission; disinfection; Europe - epidemiology; feces; feeds; finishing; food animals; Food Microbiology - legislation & jurisprudence; Food Microbiology - standards; food pathogens; food-borne zoonoses; foodborne illness; herd size; herds; Hogs; human food chain; Life Sciences; Listeria monocytogenes; lymph nodes; pathogen shedding; pens; Pork; pre-harvest hazard control; Review; risk assessment; Risk factors; Salmonella enterica; slaughterhouses; Swine; swine diseases; Swine Diseases - epidemiology; Swine Diseases - microbiology; Swine Diseases - prevention & control; Yersinia enterocolitica; Zoonoses; Europe; FOOD-BORNE ZOONOSES; PORK; PRE-HARVEST HAZARD CONTROL
• ISSN: 1863-1959; 1863-2378
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2008.01185.x

The Hygiene Package and Regulation EC-2160/2003 require information flow from farm to slaughterhouse to enhance European consumers protection in a 'farm to fork' approach. This obligation especially concerns food-borne zoonotic hazards transmitted to humans through pork consumption, such as thermophilic Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica and Yersinia enterocolitica. Prevalence estimates of these four hazards are affected by the sampling strategy and diagnostic procedure. Individual prevalence estimates for pig carriage (from digestive contents or lymph nodes collected at slaughterhouse) were higher than individual prevalence estimates for pig shedding (from faeces). Among risk factors described in the literature, poor pen cleaning and disinfection after pig departure to slaughterhouse and poor bio-security measures are of major significance. Moreover, whereas wet feed increases the risk of pig infection by L. monocytogenes, dry feed is a risk factor for Salm. enterica. Mixing batches of pigs, notably in fattening herds, represents a risk for the transmission of Salm. enterica and Y. enterocolitica. Whereas small herds are more infected by thermophilic campylobacters and Y. enterocolitica, higher prevalence of Salmonella is observed in large herds due to a more frequent mixing of batches. Antibiotic treatment during the finishing period increases the risk of transmission of Salm. enterica. The forenamed elements should be taken into account to characterize farms in a risk assessment approach and to improve zoonotic hazard management in the pork food chain.