Does the Rearing Environment affect the Incidence of Zoonotic
Infections in Pigs?
R-and- D » R-and- D » Humanhealth »
Research partners: University of Leeds
Sponsors: BPEX, Yorkshire Agricultural Society
Project duration: 2006 - 2009
This project aimed to address the question of whether differences in rearing
environment on pig farms can affect incidence of zoonotic infections in pigs. Outdoor
rearing of pigs has gained in popularity in recent years due to interest in animal
welfare and an increase in the marketability of organic food. However, in the outdoor
environment, pigs will be introduced to a wide range of bacteria that would not be
present in indoor facilities. This will presumably have some effect on the colonic flora
of the animals.
The aim of this project was to compare the gut microflora of pigs reared indoors with
that of pigs reared outdoors, for the presence of human pathogens. The organisms of
most interest were Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium difficile and Verocytotoxigenic
Escherichia coli.
View the Final report here