Chlamydiales order bacteria in swine with reproductive disoders. Detection of Waddlia chondrophila in swine

Chlamydial infections cause significant economic expenses due to infertility, insufficient productivity growth, and high mortality rates among young stock. Bacteria of the Chlamydiaceae family (Chlamydia suis Chlamydia abortus, Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia pecorum) are well known pathogens isolated from pigs. The diseases associated with these species are widely studied; monitoring and prevention are carried out. However, chlamydia-related bacteria in swine remain poorly studied in Ukraine. The purpose of the study was to check samples, taken from swine from private farms in the Poltava region, Ukraine, for the presence of Chlamydia-like organisms. Determination of the possibility of coinfection of Chlamydia and Chlamydia-like organisms. We examined 28 samples from two private farms in the Poltava region (23 samples from sows, and 5 samples from boars). The studies were carried out using PCR with primers designed in our laboratory. As a result of the study, Chlamydiaceae-positive samples were not detected among sows. Along with it, 2 out of 5 samples taken from boars were found to be Chlamydiaceae-positive. The total number of Chlamydiaceae-positive samples was 2 out of 28 (7.14%). The total number of Waddlia-positive samples was 8 out of 28 (28.7%). A mixture of Chlamydiaceae and Waddlia chondrophila infection was found in one sample. Parachlamydia acanthamoebae was not found in any sample. There are no reports of the detection of Waddlia chondrophila in samples from swine in the sources available for us, so this publication might be the first such report. Due to the fact that W. chondrophila was first detected in the samples selected from pigs, the experiment was repeated three times, and the identity of the PCR product of W. chondrophila-positive samples was additionally verified by restriction analysis. Relatively small number of samples, in our research as well as in previous studies, does not allow us to make accurate calculations about the prevalence of chlamydia-like organisms in swine. Further research are required and might include broader sampling, isolation of the pathogen, sequencing of its genome, experimental infection, determination of pathomorphological changes. All the listed above, would help to determine significance of the study along with the role of W. chondrophila in chlamydia infection in swine.