Seroprevalence of Chlamydia infection in pigs in Jiangxi province, south-eastern China

Abstract

Chlamydia are Gram-negative obligate bacteria that cause a wide range of diseases in humans and animals. To assess the risk of zoonosis posed by pigs, a total of 920 serum samples were collected from pigs in 11 administrative cities in Jiangxi province, south-eastern China, and the seroprevalence of Chlamydia antibodies was investigated by an indirect haemagglutination assay. The pathogen-specific antibodies were detected in 539 (58.59 %) pigs with seroprevalence ranging from 33.33 % (Jingdezhen) to 90.91 % (Pingxiang) among different cities (P<0.05). The highest prevalence was found in pregnant sows (80.89 %, 127/157), followed by breeding boars (79.37 %, 50/63), suckling sows (77.01 %, 67/87), fattening pigs (69.32 %, 61/88) and non-pregnant sows (62.5 %, 180/288). Piglets had the lowest prevalence of 22.78 % (54/237). The seroprevalence of Chlamydia infection among different categories of pigs was also significantly different (P<0.05). These results indicate that Chlamydia is highly prevalent in pigs in Jiangxi province and our results indicate that the presence of Chlamydia exposure in pigs may pose a potential threat to human health.