Characterization of bacterial pathogens causing metritis in swine using culture and metagenomics analysis

Abstract

Vulvar discharges and urogenital infections are a major source of economic losses to pig producers. The most common clinical manifestations include the presence of purulent secretion in the vulvar region, reproductive failure, performance loss, inappetence and poor body condition of the females. The increase in the interval between births, the lower fertility in the subsequent cycles and the reduction in the number of piglets born per sow during the year, besides the costs with the treatment of the animals, are the factors that determine the fall of the profitability of a pig farm. However, the etiological agents involved, the epidemiology and the susceptibility of these agents to the antimicrobials are poorly studied, which prevents a critical evaluation of the treatments currently employed. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to isolate and identify using the 16S DNA metagenomic the causative agents of uterine infections in swine with clinical signs of metritis. The isolated agents will be characterized in terms of antimicrobial resistance profiles, and in the case of Escherichia coli isolates, a group of genes related to extra-intestinal infections will also be investigated. Identification of the causative agents of these diseases by rapid methods such as mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF), as well as the characterization of antimicrobial resistance profiles used in swine production by the broth microdilution technique, will be of great importance to evaluate how the treatments used to control reproductive tract infections are contributing to the spread of bacterial resistance and will be of great assistance in reducing the economic impact of these diseases on the production system. (AU)