Treponema spp. in necrotic skin ulcers in pigs

Research group:
PhD students: Olov Svartström and Frida Karlsson
Märit Pringle
Claes Fellström
Anna Rosander

Shoulder ulcers in sows and ear necrosis, occur with high frequency in some pig herds and constitutes a major ethical, welfare and productivity problem in pig herds. When the causes are discussed, factors like poor hygiene, lesions caused by biting and a thin sows are often mentioned and it has until now not been possible to link the problems to any particular infection. As the first group in the world, we have now succeeded in isolating spirochaetes of a novel species, Treponema pedis, not only from ear and shoulder ulcers, but also from pig gingiva. To describe the relationship between Treponema species and shoulder/ear ulcers in pigs we have a project including the following studies:

• Collect bacteria, tissue samples and blood samples from pigs in Swedish herds with ulcers
  
• Study the behavior and environmental factors relevant to the development of shoulder and ear ulcers by video filming the animals with so-called time lapse technique
  
• Use molecular fingerprints of the bacteria to describe the epidemiological context and to trace the source of infection
  
• Determine the DNA sequence of the entire genome of a particular strain of a Treponema sp. from a pig ulcer
  
• Based on phage display technique identify Treponema spp. proteins with immunogenic properties
  
• To explore possibilities for treatment by experimental infections and antibacterial resistance studies