Draft Genome Sequence of NDM-Encoding Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolated from Feral Swine

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-producing Enterobacteriaceae pose a great threat to public health globally. Most known NDM-producing Enterobacteriaceae are associated with human hospital or community infections. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of an NDM-1-encoding Klebsiella pneumoniae strain isolated from feral swine ( Sus scrofa ) captured in Florida, USA.

Brucellosis Initially Misidentified as Ochrobactrum anthropi Bacteremia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Automated identification systems may misidentify Brucella, the causative agent of brucellosis, which may be re-emerging in the United States as the result of an expanding feral swine population. We present a case of Brucella suis likely associated with feral swine exposure that was misidentified as Ochrobactrum anthropi, a phylogenetic relative.

Feral Swine Commercial Slaughter and Condemnation at Federally Inspected Slaughter Establishments in the United States 2017–2019

Feral swine populations in the United States (US) are capable of carrying diseases that threaten the health of the domestic swine industry. Performing routine, near-real time monitoring for an unusual rise in feral swine slaughter condemnation will increase situational awareness and early detection of potential animal health issues, trends, and emerging diseases. In preparation to add feral swine to APHIS weekly monitoring, a descriptive analysis of feral swine slaughter and condemnations was conducted to understand the extent of commercial feral swine slaughter in the US at federally inspected slaughter establishments and to determine which condemnation reasons should be included. There were 17 establishments that slaughtered 242,198 feral swine across seven states from 2017 to 2019. For all 17 establishments combined, feral swine accounted for 63% of slaughtered animals. A total of 23 types of condemnation reasons were noted: Abscess/Pyemia, Arthritis, Contamination, Deads, Emaciation, General Miscellaneous, Icterus, Injuries, Metritis, Miscellaneous Degenerative & Dropsical Condition, Miscellaneous Inflammatory Diseases, Miscellaneous Parasitic Conditions, Moribund, Nephritis/Pyelitis, Non-ambulatory, Pericarditis, Pneumonia, Residue, Sarcoma, Septicemia, Sexual Odor, Toxemia, and Uremia. Exploratory analysis was conducted to determine which condemnation reasons should be included for weekly monitoring. For most condemn reasons, weeks of unusually high condemnations were noted. For example, a period of high pneumonia condemnations occurred from December 2, 2018 through February 3, 2019 with a spike on January 6, 2019 and a spike in dead swine occurred on November 3, 2019. The seasonal impacts on limited quality food resources, seasonal variation in the pathogen(s) causing pneumonia, and harsher weather are suspected to have an impact on the higher condemnation rates of pneumonia and dead swine during the winter months. Based on condemnation frequencies and the likelihood of enabling situational awareness and early detection of feral swine health emerging diseases, the following were selected for weekly monitoring: abscess/pyemia, contamination/peritonitis, deads, emaciation, injuries, miscellaneous parasitic conditions, moribund, pneumonia and septicemia. Detection of notable increases in condemnation reasons strongly suggestive of foreign animal or emerging diseases should contribute valuable evidence toward the overall disease discovery process when the anomalies are both confirmed with follow up investigation and combined with other types of surveillance.

An efficient method of evaluating multiple concurrent management actions on invasive populations

Evaluation of the efficacy of management actions to control invasive species is crucial for maintaining funding and to provide feedback for the continual improvement of management efficiency. However, it is often difficult to assess the efficacy of control methods due to limited resources for monitoring. To evaluate management actions there is often a trade-off in effort aimed at performing management actions and effort aimed at collecting monitoring data to evaluate management actions. We developed a method to estimate invasive species abundance, evaluate management effectiveness, and evaluate population growth overtime from a combination of removal activities (e.g., aerial gunning, trapping, ground shooting) using only data collected during removal efforts (the method of removal, the date, location, number of animals removed, and the effort). This dynamic approach allows for estimating abundance at discrete time points and the estimation of population growth between removal periods. We applied this method to removal data from Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri from December 2015 to September 2019, where the management objective is elimination. Populations of feral swine on Mingo NWR have fluctuated over time but have shown more marked declines in the last 3-6 months. More dramatic declines were observed in the center of the refuge. To counteract population growth (from both births and immigration) the percent of the population of feral swine removed monthly must be greater than the growth rate. On average, we found that removing 10% of the population monthly had only a 50% chance of causing a population decline, whereas removing 15% of the population monthly had a 95% chance of causing a population decline. Our method provides advancement over traditional removal modeling approaches because it can be applied to evaluate management programs that use a broad range of removal techniques concurrently and whose management effort and spatial coverage vary across time.

Feral swine as sources of fecal contamination in recreational waters

Recreational waters are primary attractions at many national and state parks where feral swine populations are established, and thus are possible hotspots for visitor exposure to feral swine contaminants. Microbial source tracking (MST) was used to determine spatial and temporal patterns of fecal contamination in Congaree National Park (CONG) in South Carolina, U.S.A., which has an established population of feral swine and is a popular destination for water-based recreation. Water samples were collected between December 2017 and June 2019 from 18 surface water sites distributed throughout CONG. Host specific MST markers included human (HF183), swine (Pig2Bac), ruminant (Rum2Bac), cow (CowM3), chicken (CL), and a marker for shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC; stx2). Water samples were also screened for culturable Escherichia coli (E. coli) as part of a citizen science program. Neither the cow nor chicken MST markers were detected during the study. The human marker was predominantly detected at boundary sites or could be attributed to upstream sources. However, several detections within CONG without concurrent detections at upstream external sites suggested occasional internal contamination from humans. The swine marker was the most frequently detected of all MST markers, and was present at sites located both internal and external to the Park. Swine MST marker concentrations ≥ 43 gene copies/mL were associated with culturable E. coli concentrations greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency beach action value for recreational waters. None of the MST markers showed a strong association with detection of the pathogenic marker (stx2). Limited information about the health risk from exposure to fecal contamination from non-human sources hampers interpretation of the human health implications.

New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) myiasis in feral swine of Uruguay: One Health and transboundary disease implications

Background Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are highly invasive and threaten animal and human health in the Americas. The screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is listed by the World Organization for Animal Health as a notifiable infestation because myiasis cases affect livestock, wildlife, and humans in endemic areas, and outbreaks can have major socioeconomic consequences in regions where the screwworm has been eradicated. However, a knowledge gap exists on screwworm infestation of feral swine in South America, where the screwworm is endemic. Here, we report screwworm infestation of feral swine harvested in Artigas Department (Uruguay), where the Republic of Uruguay shares borders with Brazil and Argentina. Methods Myiasis caused by the larvae of screwworm were identified in feral swine with the support and collaboration of members of a local feral swine hunting club over a 3-year period in the Department of Artigas. Harvested feral swine were examined for the presence of lesions where maggots causing the myiasis could be sampled and processed for taxonomic identification. The sites of myiasis on the body of infested feral swine and geospatial data for each case were recorded. The sex and relative size of each feral swine were also recorded. Temperature and precipitation profiles for the region were obtained from public sources. Results Myiases caused by screwworms were recorded in 27 of 618 the feral swine harvested. Cases detected in males weighing > 40 kg were associated with wounds that, due to their location, were likely caused by aggressive dominance behavior between adult males. The overall prevalence of screwworm infestation in the harvested feral swine was associated with ambient temperature, but not precipitation. Case numbers peaked in the warmer spring and summer months. Conclusions This is the first report on myiasis in feral swine caused by screwworm in South America. In contrast to myiasis in cattle, which can reach deep into host tissues, screwworms in feral swine tended to cause superficial infestation. The presence of feral swine in screwworm endemic areas represents a challenge to screwworm management in those areas. Screwworm populations maintained by feral swine may contribute to human cases in rural areas of Uruguay, which highlights the importance of the One Health approach to the study of this invasive host species–ectoparasite interaction.

Peptide ELISA and FRET-qPCR Identified a Significantly Higher Prevalence of Chlamydia suis in Domestic Pigs Than in Feral Swine from the State of Alabama, USA

Chlamydia suis is an important, highly prevalent, and diverse obligate intracellular pathogen infecting pigs. In order to investigate the prevalence and diversity of C. suis in the U.S., 276 whole blood samples from feral swine were collected as well as 109 fecal swabs and 60 whole blood samples from domestic pigs. C. suis-specific peptide ELISA identified anti-C. suis antibodies in 13.0% of the blood of feral swine (26/276) and 80.0% of the domestic pigs (48/60). FRET-qPCR and DNA sequencing found C. suis DNA in 99.1% of the fecal swabs (108/109) and 21.7% of the whole blood (13/60) of the domestic pigs, but not in any of the assayed blood samples (0/267) in feral swine. Phylogenetic comparison of partial C. suis ompA gene sequences and C. suis-specific multilocus sequencing typing (MLST) revealed significant genetic diversity of the C. suis identified in this study. Highly genetically diverse C. suis strains are prevalent in domestic pigs in the USA. As crowding strongly enhances the frequency and intensity of highly prevalent Chlamydia infections in animals, less population density in feral swine than in domestic pigs may explain the significantly lower C. suis prevalence in feral swine. A future study is warranted to obtain C. suis DNA from feral swine to perform genetic diversity of C. suis between commercial and feral pigs.

Neurobrucellosis associated with feral swine hunting in the southern United States

Although uncommon, Brucella infection can occur outside the areas of high endemicity, such as the USA. In the southern USA, hunters of wild swine are at risk for brucellosis. We present a case of a patient with fever, headache and constitutional symptoms that were ongoing for 11 months. He was diagnosed with neurobrucellosis. The patient was treated successfully with intravenous ceftriaxone, oral doxycycline and oral rifampin therapy. He had persistent neurological sequelae after completing treatment. This case illustrates the high index of suspicion needed to diagnose neurobrucellosis in a non-endemic country because initial symptoms can be subtle. The disease can be treated successfully, but long-lasting neurological sequelae are common.