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Interactions between bacterial and host factors in the pathogenesis of Streptococcus suis in the pig

Reference	BBS/E/I/00000750
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor James Leigh
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	The Pirbright Institute
Department	The Pirbright Institute Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	28,670
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	04/02/1998
End date	03/02/2001
Duration	36 months

Abstract

Streptococcus suis causes meningtitis and arthritis in pigs and humans and is carried asymptomatically on the tonsils of 37-80% of pigs. Economic loss to the pig industry occurs through mortality and the cost of prophylactic and therapeutic antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance among isolates of S. suis is increasing and antibiotics cannot cure or prevent the carrier state. The factors triggering the change from the carrier to disease state are unclear but must depend on alterations in the interactions between bacteria and the local environment. Two simple models are proposed for the persistence of the carrier state without systemic translocation and disease: a) virulent bacteria are controlled by the local immune response; dissemination and disease occurs following changes in the local immunological environment; b) bacteria persist within the tonsil but fail to express the necessary virulence factors until triggered by environmental change. We propose a series of experiments designed to examine the relationship between bacterial virulence and the local immune system.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Animal Sciences (AS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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