Isolation of Streptococcus species from the tonsils of slaughtered pigs

Abstract

The palatine tonsils of 220 pigs were examined for the occurrence of Streptococcus suis and other Streptococcus species. Samples were cultured onto Colombia agar plates with 5% defibrinated horse blood and selective antibiotic supplement and were incubated at 37 degrees C for 24-48 h aerobically. Presumptive colonies were identified using API20 Strep (bioMerieux). S. suis was not detected in any of the 220 palatine tonsils examined. S. porcinus was the most common streptococcus recovered and was isolated from 68 (31%) pigs. From the samples, S. agalactiae was isolated from 19 (8.6%), S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus from 10 (4.5%), S. uberis from 6 (2.7%), S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis from 4 (1.8%), Enterococcus faecium from 4 (1.8%), and S. pyogenes from 1 (0.5%). The absence of S. suis among the pigs examined is hopeful. However, further studies on this disease and other infectious diseases should continue. Additionally, this is the first report of the isolation of S. porcinus in swine in Turkey.