Study on pathogenicity of Balantidium coli in post-weaning piglets collected from pig farms in southern provinces

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the pathogenicity of Balantidium coli in the post-weaning piglets collected from the pig farms in the southern provinces. A total of 42 post-weaning piglets suffereing with diarrhea and diarrhea combining with other clinical signs (suspecting B. coli infection) were collected as the materials for this study. The studied result showed that the rate of piglet infected with B.coli was very high (78.57%) and this rate was not different (P> 0.05) between the diarrheal piglets and the diarrheal combining with respiratory disorder piglets. The frequency of the disease cases having CPG > 3000 was very high (22/33), of which 16/25 (64.0%) was the diarrheal cases and 6/8 (75.0%) of the diarrheal combining with respiratory disorder cases. All of 3 testing methods (fresh feces testing, histology and PCR) could be determined for the presence of B. coli, but the frequency of detection was different among the infection intensities. The invasion of B. coli in the other internal organs was not found, except in the intestine. However, there were 8/33 (24.24 %) of pigs suffered with B. coli invasion into the small intestine (the ileum), an unusual location. The invasive rate of B. coli in the large intestine, colon was 69.70% (23/33), while this rate was 9.09% (3/33) in cecum and 0.00% (0/33) in rectum. This study has identified pathogenicity of B. coli in the post-weaning piglets collected from the field through assessing the prevalence, infection intensity and the invasive possibility of B.coli. In cases of having CPG > 3000, B. coli caused severe diarrhea in the pigs by deep invasion of B. coli, generating ulcerative lesions on the mucous membrane and the submucosa of the large and small intestine of the disease pigs.