AIMS:To assist in the development of safe piggery effluent re-use guidelines by determining the level of selected pathogens and indicator organisms in the effluent ponds of 13 south-east Queensland piggeries.METHODS AND RESULTS:The numbers of thermotolerant coliforms, Campylobacter jejuni/coli, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and rotavirus were determined in 29 samples derived from the 13 piggeries. The study demonstrated that the 13 final effluent ponds contained an average of 1.2 x 10(5) colony-forming units (CFU) 100 ml(-1) of thermotolerant coliforms and 1.03 x 10(5) CFU 100 ml(-1) of E. coli. The Campylobacter level varied from none detectable (two of 13 piggeries) to a maximum of 930 most probable number (MPN) 100 ml(-1) (two of 13 piggeries). Salmonella was detected in the final ponds of only four of the 13 piggeries and then only at a low level (highest level being 51 MPN 100 ml(-1)). No rotavirus and no Erysip. rhusiopathiae were detected. The average log10 reductions across the ponding systems to the final irrigation pond were 1.77 for thermotolerant coliforms, 1.71 for E. coli and 1.04 for Campylobacter.CONCLUSIONS:This study has provided a baseline knowledge on the levels of indicator organisms and selected pathogens in piggery effluent.SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY:The knowledge gained in this study will assist in the development of guidelines to ensure the safe and sustainable re-use of piggery effluent.

OBJECTIVES:To produce antisera to the 15 recognised reference strains of the Kielstein-Rapp-Gabrielson (KRG) serotyping scheme for Haemophilus parasuis, validate those sera and use them to serotype 46 Australian field isolates of H parasuis.DESIGN:Antisera were produced in rabbits and validated by cross-testing with the reference strains and re-testing 15 Australian field isolates of H parasuis that had been previously serotyped in the United States of America. The validated antisera were then used to determine the serovar of 46 Australian isolates.RESULTS:Monospecific antisera were produced for 14 of the 15 KRG serovars of H parasuis. Two Australian field isolates, confirmed previously as serovars 1 and 7, were used to produce monospecific antisera for serovars 1 and 7 respectively. The antiserum for serovar 4 gave a one-way cross reaction with the antigen of serovar 14. The typing antisera correctly typed all 15 H parasuis that had been previously typed by antisera produced overseas. The 46 field isolates were shown to belong to serovars 2 (two isolates), 4 (one isolate), 5 (18 isolates), 12 (two isolates) and 13 (four isolates). The remaining 19 isolates were non-typable.CONCLUSION:Serotyping of H parasuis isolates is now available in Australia. H parasuis serovars 5 and 13 remain the predominant serovars present in Australian pigs.

OBJECTIVE:To characterise 18 isolates of Haemophilus paragallinarum isolated from chickens in Indonesia.PROCEDURE:The isolates were identified to species level by traditional phenotypic methods. Six of the isolates were also identified by a species-specific polymerase chain reaction. Fourteen of the isolates were examined for resistance to a panel of seven antimicrobial agents using a disc diffusion method. All 18 isolates were serotyped according to the Page scheme using reference antisera in a haemagglutination inhibition test.RESULTS:Four of the 18 isolates were obtained from indigenous (kampung) chickens, with the remainder being from typical intensive poultry production systems. The 18 isolates were obtained from 11 outbreaks that showed the typical clinical signs of infectious coryza and 11 of the isolates were obtained from chickens that had been vaccinated with infectious coryza vaccines. All 18 isolates were confirmed as H paragallinarum by biochemical testing and six isolates were also identified as H paragallinarum by the polymerase chain reaction test. Eleven isolates were resistant to erythromycin and streptomycin, 10 to neomycin, eight to oxytetracycline, five isolates to doxycycline, three to sulphamethoxazoltrimethoprim but only one to ampicillin. Seven isolates were Page serovar A, four were Page serovar B and seven were Page serovar C.CONCLUSION:The presence of all three Page serovars (A, B and C) has been confirmed for the first time in Indonesian chickens. As the majority of the infectious coryza vaccines in use in Indonesia contain only serovar A and C, the presence of serovar B in chickens indicates that the protection by these bivalent vaccines would be reduced. The use of trivalent infectious coryza vaccines that contain serovars A, B and C is recommended for use in Indonesia.

ObjectiveTo validate a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based method, Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus‐PCR (ERIC‐PCR), for the fingerprinting ofHaemophilus parasuisstrains and to use that method to differentiate isolates from apparently related outbreaks of Glässers disease on three pig farms.DesignERIC‐PCR was evaluated by comparing 15 different strains that represented all 15 recognised serovars in the Kielstein‐Rapp‐Gabrielson (KRG) scheme for serotypingH parasuis. Next, ERIC‐PCR was used to examine 14 Australian field isolates ofH parasuis; 12 collected from three farms suffering apparently related outbreaks of Glässers disease and two from two other farms with no known connection.ResultsThe 15 serovar reference strains all gave unique, reproducible ERIC‐PCR fingerprints. The 12 isolates from the three apparently related outbreaks all gave a single fingerprint, which was distinct from any seen in the 15 serovar reference strains and the two other Australian field isolates in the studied farms. The confirmation that all 12 isolates were the same strain allowed the development of a prevention and control program that has prevented the emergence of any further outbreaks of Glässer disease on the three farms.ConclusionERIC‐PCR is a suitable technique for the differentiation of unrelated strains ofH parasuis. The finding that the 12 field isolates ofH parasuisall shared the same fingerprint is strong evidence that there was a common source of infection on all three farms. This study has shown, for the first time, that ERIC‐PCR is a suitable technique for the sub‐typing ofH parasuisand useful for studying the epidemiology of outbreaks of Glässers disease.