Introduction: In the European Union, the use of thyreostatic drugs for fattening slaughter animals has been banned since 1981 under Council Directive 81/602/EEC. For protection of consumer health against unwanted residues and in compliance with Directive 96/23, each EU country must monitor thyreostats in samples of animal origin. This paper presents the results of research on thyreostatic residues carried out in Poland in 2011–2017. Material and Methods: The material for testing was urine (n = 3,491), drinking water (n = 127), and muscle samples (n = 349) officially collected by Veterinary Sanitary Inspectors in slaughterhouses and farms throughout the country in accordance with the national residue control plan. The samples were examined for the presence of tapazole, thiouracil, methylthiouracil, propylthiouracil, and phenylthiouracil using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry through an accredited method. Results: In four bovine and three porcine urine samples, the permissible thiouracil concentration was exceeded. In one sample of porcine urine, methyl- and propylthiouracil were found. The presence of thiouracil and its derivatives in urine samples is most likely due to feeding animals diet containing cruciferous plants. Conclusions: The results of research indicate that thyreostats are not used for anabolic purposes in slaughter animals in Poland.

Introduction: Aujeszky’s disease virus (ADV) infects a wide range of animals, including members of the Suidae family, i.e. domestic and wild pigs, as well as wild boar. Since wild boar are a potential ADV reservoir and a source of infection for domestic pigs, the aim of the study was to evaluate ADV antibody prevalence in the Polish wild boar population, during the years 2011 to 2014. Material and Methods: Wild boar blood samples were collected during three consecutive hunting seasons; i.e. 2011/2012, 2012/2013, and 2013/2014, and tested for ADV antibodies by ELISA. Results: ADV antibodies were detected in samples from all tested voivodships. The average seroprevalence reached 32.2%. Seroprevalence, over the examined hunting seasons, was 27.4% in 2011/2012, 32.4% in 2012/2013, and 35.5% in 2013/2014. The highest percentage of seroreagents was detected in four voivodships, situated along the western border of Poland, i.e. Zachodnio-Pomorskie (ZP), Lubuskie (LB), Dolnośląskie (DS), and Opolskie (OP). This area is positively correlated with the highest density of the wild boar population and the highest wild boar hunting bag. Conclusion: The results of this study confirm that the wild boar population may still pose a threat to domestic pigs, which is of special importance at the final stage of Aujeszky’s disease eradication programme in Poland.

Introduction: Data collection on the Salmonella occurrence is crucial in effective implementation of different actions or control programmes aiming to protect consumers’ health and to reduce the level of Salmonella prevalence in farm animals. The goal was to describe Salmonella serovar distribution along the food chain in Poland during 2010–2015 and to identify their epidemiological importance.Material and Methods: Slide agglutination according to White-Kauffmann-Le Minor scheme was used to identify Salmonella serovars of 6,928 isolates originating from animals, food, feeds, and fertilisers.Results: In total, 160 Salmonella serovars were identified. Differences in serovar distribution were observed depending on animal species. Among isolates from hens, S. Enteritidis and S. Infantis were the most prevalent. Serovar pattern in turkeys differed from those in hens, with S. Kentucky, S. Newport, S. Saintpaul being the most prevalent. Monophasic S. Typhimurium was predominant in pigs. Serovars found in food reflected those observed among livestock animals. Nine out of the ten most prevalent serovars in animals and humans were also found in organic fertilisers.Conclusion: Serotyping of large number of isolates from different sources is essential for insight on emerging serovars and trends of Salmonella occurrence. This may increase the value of epidemiological data and result in updating of Salmonella control programmes to target further epidemiologically important serovars in animals and better protection of consumers’ health.

Introduction: The objective was to evaluate the epizootic and epidemiological situation of Trichinella sp. infection in Poland between 2006 and 2015 against the dynamics of the wild boar population and its primary reservoir host.Material and Methods: Boar and porcine trichinosis epizootic analysis was based on General Veterinary Inspectorate data from RRW-6 bulletins. The epidemiological situation was evaluated on the basis of the data supplied by the Department of Epidemiology of the National Institute of Hygiene - National Institute of Public Health. The wild boar hunting harvest and population dynamics were estimated, as these animals remain the basic infection source for humans. Population size and harvest data were obtained from hunting statistics.Results: The study timeframe showed an almost 2.5-fold increase in Trichinella infection cases in wild boars but a significant decline in human cases. In the domestic pig, the incidence rate did not exceed 0.00037%. The highest infection risk exists in West Pomerania, Greater Poland, and Kuyavian-Pomeranian Provinces. Over the study period, the wild boar population increased more than 1.5-fold, while the hunting harvest more than tripled. During the last two seasons the total hunt surpassed 100% of the spring population.Conclusion: Wild boar management by increasing the hunting take of the annual population growth should limit that growth and decrease the take in the future. Thereby, over some years intra-species trichinosis spread should reduce, for a substantial safety gain for wild boar meat.

Introduction: A real-time RT-PCR method for identification and quantification of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV) strains in China was developed.Material and Methods: Based on the conserved sequence of the PEDV nucleocapsid (N) gene, a primer pair and probe were designed to establish a TaqMan-MGB real-time RT-PCR assay for quantitative detection of the virus. The sequence was cloned into the pMD18-T vector and a series of diluted recombinant plasmids were used to generate a standard curve with an R2 value of 0.999.Results: The developed quantitative PCR assay detected viral titres as low as 0.1 TCID₅₀ with high specificity and no cross-reaction with other porcine viruses (PoRV, TGEV, PRRSV, or CSFV). The intra-batch and inter-batch coefficients of variation were both less than 1%, which indicated good reproducibility. Thirty clinical diarrhoea samples obtained from pigs in Shanghai and Fujian were analysed using this quantitative PCR assay. Out of these samples, 93.3% were found to be PEDV positive.Conclusion: This approach is suitable for clinical sample identification and pathogenesis studies.

Introduction: The study objective was to develop and evaluate a new TaqMan multiplex real-time PCR method for Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) detection in slaughtered animal carcasses.Material and Methods: The procedure included an enrichment step, DNA extraction, and two multiplex real-time PCRs. The first PCR detected the invA and hly genes of Salmonella and L. monocytogenes respectively, the second the vtx1, vtx2, and eae genes of VTEC.Results: The validation of this method resulted in 100% relative sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy as compared to the reference ISO methods. The limit of detection per swab sample was established at 1 cfu for Salmonella and L. monocytogenes and 2 cfu for VTEC. The authors analysed 265 slaughterhouse-collected swabs from cattle, pig, and poultry carcasses. Among 125 from cattle, 51 were positive for VTEC, 29 for Salmonella, and 1 for L. monocytogenes. Among swabs from pig carcasses (n = 95), three, two, and one sample were positive for these pathogens respectively. None of the microorganisms tested for was identified in 45 samples of poultry origin.Conclusion: The obtained results showed that the method developed can rapidly identify the main bacterial pathogens that may contaminate carcasses of food-producing animals.

African swine fever (ASF) is currently one of the most severe viral infections of domestic pigs, wild boars, and other hosts belonging to Suidae family. ASF is also considered as the most complex and devastating infectious and haemorrhagic disease of swine due to its severe socio-economic impact and transboundary character. ASF it is a notifiable disease and due to the lack of specific treatment and vaccine, the disease can be only limited by the administrative measures comprising wild boar hunting and stamping out of affected pigs. ASF occurred for the first time in Kenya in 1921 while in Europe (Portugal) the virus was detected at the end of the 1950s. In spite of successful eradication of this threat in a number of affected regions, the virus remains endemic in both feral and domestic pigs in Africa and Sardinia. The ‘new era’ of ASF started in 2007 after its re-introduction to Georgia. Following its intensive expansion, the virus spread to other Caucasian countries, including the territory of the Russian Federation. In 2014 the virus reached Ukraine, Belarus, and, consequently, European Union countries: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland. The occurrence of ASF in wild boars and pigs had a severe impact on both epidemiology and economy because of the national and international transport and trade consequences. Up to date, starting from the February 2014, eighty ASF cases in wild boar and three outbreaks in domestic pigs have been diagnosed. Taking into account the diverse rate of spread in Poland, this review aims to present and discuss the current state of knowledge on ASF including its epidemiology, pathology, transmission, and perspectives of control.

Due to the widespread occurrence of acrylamide in the environment, its likely carcinogen status, and the suitability of the pig model as a human analogue, the authors decided to evaluate the impact of high and low doses of this compound on the processes of erythropoiesis in swine bone marrow. The experiment was carried out on Danish Landrace pigs at the age of eight weeks and body weight about 20 kg. The animals were divided into three equal groups consisting of five pigs in each. Control animals received empty gelatin capsules (placebos). Animals from the first experimental group received a low dose of acrylamide of 0.5 μg/kg b.w./day (> 99% purity; Sigma-Aldrich, Poland), and animals from the second experimental group received a dose 10 times higher. Placebos and acrylamide capsules were administered with feed every morning for 28 days. After anaesthetisation of the animals, bone marrow from the femur was collected into tubes without an anticoagulant on days 0 and 28. After drying and staining, bone marrow smears were subjected to detailed cytological evaluation using a light microscope. This study showed that high and low doses of acrylamide affected the process of porcine erythropoiesis. The cytotoxic effect of acrylamide on this process was demonstrated in a change of the polychromatic erythroblasts/normochromatic erythroblasts ratio. Both doses of acrylamide caused a decrease in the number of ortho- and polychromatic erythroblasts.

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) causes an economically important and highly contagious disease of pigs, leading to economic losses around the world. Attenuated live vaccines with CSFV antigens have played an important role in the prevention and control of the disease. Porcine kidney 15 (PK15) cells have been widely used for the propagation of CSFV, but this cell line is not efficient or homogeneously susceptible to viral infection. To achieve a homogeneous PK15 cell line which enabled high titre replication of CSFV, we used the limiting dilution cell cloning method. We developed two cell clones, PK15-1A6 and PK15-3B1, which respectively have high- and low-permissive phenotypes to CSFV infection. The PK15-1A6, PK15-3B1, and PK15 parent cells showed different characteristics in cell proliferation rate, susceptibility to CSFV infection, and CSFV production. The mean virus titres per millilitre reflected by TCID₅₀ values in PK15-1A6, PK15-3B1, and PK15 parent cells were 106.85, 103.63, and 104.74, respectively. The PK15-1A6 cell clone is more permissive to CSFV infection than the PK15 parent cells. The screened high-permissive cells will be useful for CSFV propagation and vaccine development in vitro, and facilitate research on the pathogenicity of CSFV.

African swine fever (ASF), caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), is currently one of the most important and serious diseases of pigs, mainly due to the enormous sanitary and socio-economic consequences. It leads to serious economic losses, not only because of the near 100% mortality rate, but also through the prohibitions of pork exports it triggers. Currently neither vaccines nor safe and effective chemotherapeutic agents are available against ASFV. The disease is controlled by culling infected pigs and maintaining high biosecurity standards, which principally relies on disinfection. Some countries have approved and/or authorised a list of biocides effective against this virus. This article is focused on the characteristics of chemical substances present in the most popular disinfectants of potential use against ASFV. Despite some of them being approved and tested, it seems necessary to perform tests directly on ASFV to ensure maximum effectiveness of the disinfectants in preventing the spread of ASF in the future.