January 16, 2025 • 20 mins
This episode explores the critical issue of biofilms in waterlines and their hidden impact on swine health and productivity. Understanding biofilms can help producers implement better management practices, ensuring optimal water quality and animal welfare.
• Dr. Gabi Doughan of the Swine Medicine Education Center discusses her research on waterline biofilms in swine operations
• Biofilms pose significant health risks for pigs
• Importance of testing both source and in-barn water for pathogens
• Regular cleaning and maintenance practices for water systems are essential
• Beyond health, managing biofilms can improve overall production metrics
• Need for ongoing research to refine management strategies in the swine industry
This episode is brought to you by Pharmgate Animal Health, a growing business that puts livestock first. Pharmgate provides a proven portfolio of technically supported, high-quality products that are the foundation of custom herd health protocols. By offering multiple options for active ingredients, concentrations, and administration routes, Pharmgate provides you with choices to fit your needs backed by a team with technical expertise to get the results you want.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Are biofilms lurking in your barn's water lines.
When not properly managed andcleaned, your lines might
develop biofilms that cannegatively impact the health and
performance of your pigs.
Welcome to Feedstuffs in Focus,our podcast taking a look at
the big issues affecting thelivestock, poultry grain and
(00:28):
animal feed industries.
I'm your host, sarah Muirhead.
This episode is brought to youby Farmgate Animal Health, a
growing business that putslivestock first.
Farmgate provides a provenportfolio of technically
supported, high-quality productsthat are the foundation of
custom herd health protocols.
By offering multiple optionsfor active ingredients,
(00:51):
concentrations andadministration routes, farmgate
provides you with choices to fityour needs, backed by a team
with technical expertise to getthe results that you want.
Joining us today to talk aboutwaterline biology and her recent
research trial is Dr Gabby Dorn, postdoctoral Research
Associate at Iowa StateUniversity's Swine Medicine
(01:13):
Education Center.
Let's start by having you tellus about your role at SMEC and
your experience in swinemedicine.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah, so I'm a veterinarian.
I graduated from vet school in2021 from Iowa State, and then I
started at the Swine MedicineEducation Center, otherwise
known as SMEC, at Iowa State,and so I've been here ever since
graduating vet school and I'vebeen working on my master's and
PhD in waterline ecology type oftopics, waterline biosecurity,
(01:46):
those types of things.
So happy to be here today,thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, thank you for joining us.
So you talk about waterlines.
That, of course, leads into thewhole topic of biofilms.
What is the concern aroundwaterline biofilms, and how do
you go about characterizingthose in the context of a hog
production operation?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
So waterline biofilms are really?
They are like biofilms in thatthey are composed of a lot of
different substances, so theprimary one is what's called an
EPS, and so really, what thatmatrix is, it's slime, it's a
slime layer that protects thebacteria and other organisms.
We know that biofilms canincorporate viruses, fungi,
(02:29):
yeast, algae and sometimes evenprotozoa into the biofilm, and
then there's other nutrients andother things that are
accumulated in there.
So it's a really complexecosystem of organisms, this
slime layer, otherwise known asEPS of organisms, this slime
layer otherwise known as EPS,and so it's this kind of
(02:50):
evolving mosaic, is what I wouldsay.
Is it changes over time?
It's not, you know, it can be amultiple species of bacteria.
It often is multiple species ofbacteria, and so really the
concern around these biofilms inwater lines is that they can
kind of come from two differentsources, and so the first source
is through the water itself.
So these bacteria can come intowater lines, they can adhere to
(03:12):
the pipe surfaces and then theycan create this biofilm because
our water lines are great, youknow sources for like biofilm
growth really, and that kind ofleads to my second point is that
we have open systems in ourfarms so we can have bacteria
enter in through the watermedicator or, you know, they can
grow around the water nipplesand kind of around the wet to
(03:36):
dry feeder area, and so thoseorganisms can get seeded into
the system and then they canestablish and, furthermore, can
get seeded into the system andthen they can establish and
furthermore our water systemsare medicated so we can put
electrolytes through, we can putmedications, vaccines, which
can also potentially seed somebacteria into that biofilm as
(03:57):
well.
So there's a lot of nutrientsthat are in that environment
that really makes biofilmsthrive.
And so, as far ascharacterization, we've done a
lot of research to try tounderstand okay, biofilms are in
water lines, are they posing ahealth to swine?
You know, posing a threat toswine health, biosecurity, you
(04:18):
know antimicrobial stewardship,all of those types of things.
And so when we looked at 16Skind of sequencing to identify
the organisms in there, we foundthat at the six sites that we
had tested, those biofilms werevery unique to the site.
And so that's kind of somethingnew.
You know we were thinking in awater environment.
You know maybe some things aredifferent, but actually we saw
(04:40):
that, you know, the sites were,you know, visually very
different from one another asfar as the diversity and the
organisms that were presentthere, and so the other thing is
that biofilms can grow back,and they can grow very quickly.
So we did a waterline cleaningand disinfection event one time.
We found that biofilms actuallyregrew back 72 hours after that
(05:02):
waterline cleaning anddisinfection event, and so they
grow back very, very fast sothey can reestablish themselves
and so they can, yeah,potentially cause problems
because of their presence there.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
In all these factors, that is very quick to grow back
.
I didn't think it would be thatquick.
And of course it's affectingwater quality overall, right,
when you've got biofilms, andthat has to have an impact on
pig health, as you kind ofmentioned, and also on the
equipment itself, right, it'sprobably not the best thing for
(05:35):
the equipment.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, exactly.
So water quality can beinfluenced by biofilms and
really the big component is thatbiofilms when they mature they
can actually disperse and shedorganisms into the bulk water,
and so we found that water inrooms is actually has a higher
amount of coliforms, so coliformbacteria is actually has a
(05:58):
higher amount of coliforms, socoliform bacteria.
And occasionally on the farmsthat did have E coli, they had
higher E coli counts in therooms than they did at the well,
and so the bacteria canactually come in at the well,
but water quality is degraded inthe farm actually because those
biofilms are shedding andputting their organisms into the
bulk water and so ultimatelythat affects the pig.
Right, we don't have a lot ofgreat research.
(06:20):
A lot of it was done in the1970s, and so they had kind of
looked at what was the thresholdof coliforms that would be a
problem in pigs, and so it'skind of variable because younger
pigs may be susceptible.
It also depends on theorganisms that are in the
coliforms.
But really the big things isthat coliforms indicate that
(06:41):
pathogens can live there and italso indicates that we need to
do better as far as testing.
So a lot of people will justtest their well to understand
what's going on with their waterquality.
Unfortunately, we're not gettingthe full picture if we're not
testing the water inside of thefarm as well and in those rooms,
right.
And so you had mentioned thatbiofilms can also have a can be
(07:03):
problematic to the equipmentinside of the farm, and so how
I've seen biofilms causeproblems is that they can the
mineral buildup that's with hardwater and an increased pH as
far as the water qualitycomponents, that can really act
as a scaffolding and createthese mineral buildups on the
inside of these water lines andreduce pipe diameter, and so
(07:26):
they incorporate with thebiofilms, can reduce pipe
diameter and that ultimatelyaffects the amount of water
that's getting to the pigs,right.
And so then that can affectgrowth parameters and all that
because they're not drinking asmuch, they're not going to be
eating as much.
Biofilms can also wear down theequipment through corrosion.
So if you've got metal fixturesand other things like that,
(07:46):
specific organisms cancontribute to additional
corrosion as well.
So that's really how I seebiofilms impacting the water
system and you know waterquality in general, you
mentioned pathogens can be anissue.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
What about things like antimicrobial resistance?
Can that be a concern andsomething that producers need to
be aware of?
That?
Perhaps biofilms are, you know,a factor in all of that?
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah, so actually in one of the examples that we had.
So one of the pathogens that wedid find was an F18 E coli and
that had toxin and adhesiongenes, so meaning that it could
be pathogenic to pigs andproduce disease, and so that was
actually identified through amechanism that we were using to
determine phenotypic resistanceor the demonstration of
(08:37):
resistance in the face ofchlorotetracycline and
lancamycin.
And so we had found the C coli.
It had grown on a drug-infusedplate, a culture plate, and so
it was resistant tochlorotetracycline and
lancamycin.
We also found over 3,900antimicrobial resistance genes.
So over the entire study andthere were 184 unique genes
(09:03):
associated with that we alsofound unique genes, you know,
100 genes that were kind ofencoded for multiple drug
resistance.
So a specific integron wouldcarry multiple antimicrobial
resistance genes and cancontribute to that.
So we have seen antimicrobialresistance genes in these
biofilms, because biofilms are agreat spot for them to trade
(09:27):
these resistance genes and thenthey're also using the genes and
demonstrating this phenotypicresistance or resistance in the
face of antibiotics as wellwhich is very problematic, right
, right?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Yeah, that's fascinating.
So now, in addition to all ofthis that we've talked about,
you've done some recent researchand uncovered a few things.
How can these findings thatyou've made be applied to, kind
of, the day-to-day operations ofa hog facility?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, absolutely so.
As far as day-to-dayobservations, I think the first
thing is we just need to havegeneral awareness that waterline
biofilms can contribute toproblems in health and microbial
stewardship and potentiallyproduction as well.
You know, really we've kind oftaken for granted that, hey,
we're providing water access tothe pigs.
You know that that's fine, wedon't really need to be
(10:14):
concerned about it.
So I think just having ageneral awareness that this can
be problematic is really thefirst step.
The second piece is that youknow there are a lot of
actionable items that we can dobecause our water systems are
open.
We are administeringmedications and so making sure
that we're using clean stockbuckets, cleaning out water
lines when we can flushing outthe medicators after we, you
(10:38):
know, administer a medicationinto the water line and then
ultimately testing water morefrequently so that we can
determine what's in our waterright and monitor it more
closely.
There's still a lot to learn inthis area as far as, like, best
practices.
What can we do every day?
How can we monitor it?
And so we're really onlygetting started.
There's a lot more researchthat needs to be done to keep
(10:59):
this area of study moving.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
So you mentioned, the first step is to kind of
recognize that biofilms are aproblem.
But how do you go about makingthat assessment?
How can a producer say, hey, Ido have an issue.
Or I want to see if I have anissue, what's the process there?
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Yeah, so oftentimes, you know, with E coli especially
, we tend to notice that it's asite-specific problem.
Every time these pigs come inwe tend to see the same E coli
kind of break, you know, overtime, and it tends to be this
like site-specific problem.
So if you're seeing likesite-specific health challenges,
you know you're having pluggedwater nipples or you can even
visually appreciate some.
You know you're having pluggedwater nipples or you can even
(11:36):
visually appreciate some.
You know this kind of slime ormineral buildup on the inside,
you can probably assume that,yeah, I may probably have a
biofilm issue there.
And so, really, biofilms aregoing to be in every waterline
system.
You know, as long as there's awater source, nutrients and
bacteria, you're going to havebiofilms.
(11:57):
But sometimes they can be alittle bit more problematic than
others, right?
Especially if they've got Ecoli in them.
And so really, you knowmechanisms that we can determine
, like as far as testing istesting your water for coliforms
.
We know that biofilms will shedroughly 5% of their population
in that water supply, like I hadmentioned, and so we want to
(12:18):
make sure that we're taking aclean sample, so using an
alcohol swab on the end of thewater line before you're taking
your water sample.
Or if you've got a metal kindof spigot, you can flame that
and then take your water sampleso that we're not getting that
external contamination, and thentesting for coliforms because
you know they're going to shedthem, we can detect.
(12:39):
Hey, we got some biofilm goingon here.
You can also take waterlineswabs as well and then send them
into culture to try toenumerate biofilms, and there's
a lot of different mechanisms onhow to take those samples.
And then there's also amechanism through ATP swabs, and
so this is kind of a newemerging technology, kind of in
(12:59):
the swine industry.
It's been used a lot in dairyand food and beverage industries
.
And so ATP is really the energymolecule of organisms, and so
what it does is you swab it andthen the technology will
luminesce and so when it'sinteracting with that ATP, and
so what that means is that it'llcount how much ATP was in that
(13:21):
sample, and so if there'sorganisms there, you're going to
have a higher amount of ATP,Right.
So that's another mechanismthat's fairly easy and that
would be a pen side test thatyou could do in order to
determine how much was there.
And there's waterline specificswabs for that technology.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
So what about the impact biofilms on a producer's
bottom line?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah, so that's a, you know, we're just now
recognizing that waterlinebiofilms can be an issue for
pigs.
We've kind of, like I mentioned,taken it for granted for some
time, and so there's a lot ofsparse, peer reviewed
information surrounding that.
But there are many anecdotalkind of stories that I've heard
from the field and then there'salso a few studies that have
(14:05):
kind of indicated, yeah, theremay be some, you know, potential
benefits in trying to reducebiofilms and as far as these
production parameters really,and so we have seen in some of
these anecdotal cases, increasedaverage daily gain, improved
(14:25):
feed conversion rate, and thenultimately we know that in some
sow farms that pelvic organprolapses and mortalities
associated with those wereactually reduced when water was
treated at that farm.
So there are maybe someindicators that, hey, we need
more research in this area sothat we can further determine
what's the return on investmentfor these particular
disinfection practices andbiofilm eliminations, especially
(14:47):
in these young pigs and maybein more susceptible pigs like a
farrowing sow, those you know.
We just need more research inthis area to really get those
hard numbers.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
So what about when it comes to managing and treatment
for biofilms on the farm?
What's your recommendationthere?
What do you tell producers?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Yeah.
So usually the best place tostart is to start taking water
samples.
So taking water samples yearlyand then ultimately looking at
those coliforms to see, okay,are there some biofilm
components here?
The water testing will actuallyhelp you make decisions on what
best chemistry is going to workbest for your waterline
cleaning and disinfection, foryour waterline system right, and
(15:28):
what your options are.
And so ultimately you need tostart with water testing.
The second thing I recommend iscleaning in between turns and
then ultimately, becausebiofilms grow back quickly, you
need to have a continualdisinfectant after that because
we know that they can grow backand we need to keep on top of
those biofilms.
We know they're probably goingto grow back because some of
(15:50):
them, you know, are getting alittle bit more resistant to
particular chemistries and cangrow in the face of them.
But what we can do is we canjust keep on top of that and
kill anything that's being shedinto the main water line, right
and so and so having thosecleanings in between turns can
(16:12):
kind of restart that process,allow the continuous
disinfectant to work better inthose things.
Now at the south foreign level,this gets a little bit tricky
because those in-between turnscleanings that tends to be at a
higher concentration and it'snot really meant to be used
while pigs are drinking thewater.
It actually can be, you know,have a lot of negative impacts
(16:34):
if the pigs are drinking thatwater, right, so we definitely
don't want to have that happen.
So that causes some challengeswhen we continually have pigs on
the farm at like a sow farm.
So I tend to recommend you knowyou can clean water lines for
four to six hours in thefarrowing rooms, because we do
have some downtime, hopefully,in between those farrowings, and
(16:58):
so that may be a mechanism thatwe can use and then apply
continual disinfectant, you know, as they go through farrowing
and weaning, because those tendto be the more susceptible
populations.
If you do have specific waterlines that are kind of down, you
know, and you don't have pigsin them, you could try to
disinfect those.
But it does get a little bitmore challenging just because
(17:20):
the water systems aren't builtfor that in sow farms, right?
Speaker 1 (17:24):
now at least.
So you mentioned testing once ayear.
Is there a certain time of yearthat's more optimal for that
testing?
Is it like when thetemperatures are warmer outside,
or have you seen any differencethere?
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Yeah, so water trace minerals tend to be pretty much
the same over time, but you cansee some changes.
We have seen some changeshappen, actually over a few days
, but I think spring and fall isreally the general
recommendation either one ofthose and do a full water
quality panel testing then.
But your coliforms, you mayneed to do more frequent testing
(18:00):
.
So you know, like once a turnor multiple times a turn,
depending on you know thedifferent resources that you
have available for that, just tokeep monitoring that over time.
So that's generally what youknow I would recommend.
Ultimately, we need moreresearch to you know, help
determine what are the besttimes.
(18:22):
You know that would have thebest impact or the best
representation of what's trulyhappening in the farm.
All of that is, you know,research that needs to be
completed.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
So key takeaways to leave our audience with here
today.
What do you want producers toknow?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Yeah, so really we're learning about water quality,
waterline biofilms and how todevelop these best practices for
producers every day.
So it is a rapidly evolvingarea of study, so stay tuned and
ultimately, we just need tobring more awareness to this
issue and realize that biofilmscan have an impact on health,
(18:57):
productivity and, ultimately,antimicrobial resistance as well
.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Sounds like down the road we're going to have to have
you back for some updates.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yeah, that would be great.
Thank you so much again for theopportunity to share today.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
This episode of Feedstuffs in Focus has been
brought to you by FarmgateAnimal Health, a growing
business that puts livestockfirst.
Farmgate provides a provenportfolio of technically
supported, high-quality productsthat are the foundation of
custom herd health protocols.
By offering multiple optionsfor active ingredients,
concentrations andadministration routes, farmgate
(19:31):
provides you with choices to fityour needs, backed by a team
with technical expertise to getthe results that you want.
I'm Sarah Muirhead and you havebeen listening to Feedstuffs In
Focus.
If you would like to hear moreconversations about some of the
big issues affecting thelivestock, poultry grain and
animal feed industries,subscribe to this podcast on
(19:51):
your favorite podcast channel.
Until next time, have a greatday and thank you for listening.
Are biofilms lurking in your barn's water lines.
When not properly managed andcleaned, your lines might
develop biofilms that cannegatively impact the health and
performance of your pigs.
Welcome to Feedstuffs in Focus,our podcast taking a look at
the big issues affecting thelivestock, poultry grain and
(00:28):
animal feed industries.
I'm your host, sarah Muirhead.
This episode is brought to youby Farmgate Animal Health, a
growing business that putslivestock first.
Farmgate provides a provenportfolio of technically
supported, high-quality productsthat are the foundation of
custom herd health protocols.
By offering multiple optionsfor active ingredients,
(00:51):
concentrations andadministration routes, farmgate
provides you with choices to fityour needs, backed by a team
with technical expertise to getthe results that you want.
Joining us today to talk aboutwaterline biology and her recent
research trial is Dr Gabby Dorn, postdoctoral Research
Associate at Iowa StateUniversity's Swine Medicine
(01:13):
Education Center.
Let's start by having you tellus about your role at SMEC and
your experience in swinemedicine.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah, so I'm a veterinarian.
I graduated from vet school in2021 from Iowa State, and then I
started at the Swine MedicineEducation Center, otherwise
known as SMEC, at Iowa State,and so I've been here ever since
graduating vet school and I'vebeen working on my master's and
PhD in waterline ecology type oftopics, waterline biosecurity,
(01:46):
those types of things.
So happy to be here today,thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, thank you for joining us.
So you talk about waterlines.
That, of course, leads into thewhole topic of biofilms.
What is the concern aroundwaterline biofilms, and how do
you go about characterizingthose in the context of a hog
production operation?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
So waterline biofilms are really?
They are like biofilms in thatthey are composed of a lot of
different substances, so theprimary one is what's called an
EPS, and so really, what thatmatrix is, it's slime, it's a
slime layer that protects thebacteria and other organisms.
We know that biofilms canincorporate viruses, fungi,
(02:29):
yeast, algae and sometimes evenprotozoa into the biofilm, and
then there's other nutrients andother things that are
accumulated in there.
So it's a really complexecosystem of organisms, this
slime layer, otherwise known asEPS of organisms, this slime
layer otherwise known as EPS,and so it's this kind of
(02:50):
evolving mosaic, is what I wouldsay.
Is it changes over time?
It's not, you know, it can be amultiple species of bacteria.
It often is multiple species ofbacteria, and so really the
concern around these biofilms inwater lines is that they can
kind of come from two differentsources, and so the first source
is through the water itself.
So these bacteria can come intowater lines, they can adhere to
(03:12):
the pipe surfaces and then theycan create this biofilm because
our water lines are great, youknow sources for like biofilm
growth really, and that kind ofleads to my second point is that
we have open systems in ourfarms so we can have bacteria
enter in through the watermedicator or, you know, they can
grow around the water nipplesand kind of around the wet to
(03:36):
dry feeder area, and so thoseorganisms can get seeded into
the system and then they canestablish and, furthermore, can
get seeded into the system andthen they can establish and
furthermore our water systemsare medicated so we can put
electrolytes through, we can putmedications, vaccines, which
can also potentially seed somebacteria into that biofilm as
(03:57):
well.
So there's a lot of nutrientsthat are in that environment
that really makes biofilmsthrive.
And so, as far ascharacterization, we've done a
lot of research to try tounderstand okay, biofilms are in
water lines, are they posing ahealth to swine?
You know, posing a threat toswine health, biosecurity, you
(04:18):
know antimicrobial stewardship,all of those types of things.
And so when we looked at 16Skind of sequencing to identify
the organisms in there, we foundthat at the six sites that we
had tested, those biofilms werevery unique to the site.
And so that's kind of somethingnew.
You know we were thinking in awater environment.
You know maybe some things aredifferent, but actually we saw
(04:40):
that, you know, the sites were,you know, visually very
different from one another asfar as the diversity and the
organisms that were presentthere, and so the other thing is
that biofilms can grow back,and they can grow very quickly.
So we did a waterline cleaningand disinfection event one time.
We found that biofilms actuallyregrew back 72 hours after that
(05:02):
waterline cleaning anddisinfection event, and so they
grow back very, very fast sothey can reestablish themselves
and so they can, yeah,potentially cause problems
because of their presence there.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
In all these factors, that is very quick to grow back
.
I didn't think it would be thatquick.
And of course it's affectingwater quality overall, right,
when you've got biofilms, andthat has to have an impact on
pig health, as you kind ofmentioned, and also on the
equipment itself, right, it'sprobably not the best thing for
(05:35):
the equipment.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, exactly.
So water quality can beinfluenced by biofilms and
really the big component is thatbiofilms when they mature they
can actually disperse and shedorganisms into the bulk water,
and so we found that water inrooms is actually has a higher
amount of coliforms, so coliformbacteria is actually has a
(05:58):
higher amount of coliforms, socoliform bacteria.
And occasionally on the farmsthat did have E coli, they had
higher E coli counts in therooms than they did at the well,
and so the bacteria canactually come in at the well,
but water quality is degraded inthe farm actually because those
biofilms are shedding andputting their organisms into the
bulk water and so ultimatelythat affects the pig.
Right, we don't have a lot ofgreat research.
(06:20):
A lot of it was done in the1970s, and so they had kind of
looked at what was the thresholdof coliforms that would be a
problem in pigs, and so it'skind of variable because younger
pigs may be susceptible.
It also depends on theorganisms that are in the
coliforms.
But really the big things isthat coliforms indicate that
(06:41):
pathogens can live there and italso indicates that we need to
do better as far as testing.
So a lot of people will justtest their well to understand
what's going on with their waterquality.
Unfortunately, we're not gettingthe full picture if we're not
testing the water inside of thefarm as well and in those rooms,
right.
And so you had mentioned thatbiofilms can also have a can be
(07:03):
problematic to the equipmentinside of the farm, and so how
I've seen biofilms causeproblems is that they can the
mineral buildup that's with hardwater and an increased pH as
far as the water qualitycomponents, that can really act
as a scaffolding and createthese mineral buildups on the
inside of these water lines andreduce pipe diameter, and so
(07:26):
they incorporate with thebiofilms, can reduce pipe
diameter and that ultimatelyaffects the amount of water
that's getting to the pigs,right.
And so then that can affectgrowth parameters and all that
because they're not drinking asmuch, they're not going to be
eating as much.
Biofilms can also wear down theequipment through corrosion.
So if you've got metal fixturesand other things like that,
(07:46):
specific organisms cancontribute to additional
corrosion as well.
So that's really how I seebiofilms impacting the water
system and you know waterquality in general, you
mentioned pathogens can be anissue.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
What about things like antimicrobial resistance?
Can that be a concern andsomething that producers need to
be aware of?
That?
Perhaps biofilms are, you know,a factor in all of that?
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah, so actually in one of the examples that we had.
So one of the pathogens that wedid find was an F18 E coli and
that had toxin and adhesiongenes, so meaning that it could
be pathogenic to pigs andproduce disease, and so that was
actually identified through amechanism that we were using to
determine phenotypic resistanceor the demonstration of
(08:37):
resistance in the face ofchlorotetracycline and
lancamycin.
And so we had found the C coli.
It had grown on a drug-infusedplate, a culture plate, and so
it was resistant tochlorotetracycline and
lancamycin.
We also found over 3,900antimicrobial resistance genes.
So over the entire study andthere were 184 unique genes
(09:03):
associated with that we alsofound unique genes, you know,
100 genes that were kind ofencoded for multiple drug
resistance.
So a specific integron wouldcarry multiple antimicrobial
resistance genes and cancontribute to that.
So we have seen antimicrobialresistance genes in these
biofilms, because biofilms are agreat spot for them to trade
(09:27):
these resistance genes and thenthey're also using the genes and
demonstrating this phenotypicresistance or resistance in the
face of antibiotics as wellwhich is very problematic, right
, right?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Yeah, that's fascinating.
So now, in addition to all ofthis that we've talked about,
you've done some recent researchand uncovered a few things.
How can these findings thatyou've made be applied to, kind
of, the day-to-day operations ofa hog facility?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, absolutely so.
As far as day-to-dayobservations, I think the first
thing is we just need to havegeneral awareness that waterline
biofilms can contribute toproblems in health and microbial
stewardship and potentiallyproduction as well.
You know, really we've kind oftaken for granted that, hey,
we're providing water access tothe pigs.
You know that that's fine, wedon't really need to be
(10:14):
concerned about it.
So I think just having ageneral awareness that this can
be problematic is really thefirst step.
The second piece is that youknow there are a lot of
actionable items that we can dobecause our water systems are
open.
We are administeringmedications and so making sure
that we're using clean stockbuckets, cleaning out water
lines when we can flushing outthe medicators after we, you
(10:38):
know, administer a medicationinto the water line and then
ultimately testing water morefrequently so that we can
determine what's in our waterright and monitor it more
closely.
There's still a lot to learn inthis area as far as, like, best
practices.
What can we do every day?
How can we monitor it?
And so we're really onlygetting started.
There's a lot more researchthat needs to be done to keep
(10:59):
this area of study moving.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
So you mentioned, the first step is to kind of
recognize that biofilms are aproblem.
But how do you go about makingthat assessment?
How can a producer say, hey, Ido have an issue.
Or I want to see if I have anissue, what's the process there?
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Yeah, so oftentimes, you know, with E coli especially
, we tend to notice that it's asite-specific problem.
Every time these pigs come inwe tend to see the same E coli
kind of break, you know, overtime, and it tends to be this
like site-specific problem.
So if you're seeing likesite-specific health challenges,
you know you're having pluggedwater nipples or you can even
visually appreciate some.
You know you're having pluggedwater nipples or you can even
(11:36):
visually appreciate some.
You know this kind of slime ormineral buildup on the inside,
you can probably assume that,yeah, I may probably have a
biofilm issue there.
And so, really, biofilms aregoing to be in every waterline
system.
You know, as long as there's awater source, nutrients and
bacteria, you're going to havebiofilms.
(11:57):
But sometimes they can be alittle bit more problematic than
others, right?
Especially if they've got Ecoli in them.
And so really, you knowmechanisms that we can determine
, like as far as testing istesting your water for coliforms
.
We know that biofilms will shedroughly 5% of their population
in that water supply, like I hadmentioned, and so we want to
(12:18):
make sure that we're taking aclean sample, so using an
alcohol swab on the end of thewater line before you're taking
your water sample.
Or if you've got a metal kindof spigot, you can flame that
and then take your water sampleso that we're not getting that
external contamination, and thentesting for coliforms because
you know they're going to shedthem, we can detect.
(12:39):
Hey, we got some biofilm goingon here.
You can also take waterlineswabs as well and then send them
into culture to try toenumerate biofilms, and there's
a lot of different mechanisms onhow to take those samples.
And then there's also amechanism through ATP swabs, and
so this is kind of a newemerging technology, kind of in
(12:59):
the swine industry.
It's been used a lot in dairyand food and beverage industries
.
And so ATP is really the energymolecule of organisms, and so
what it does is you swab it andthen the technology will
luminesce and so when it'sinteracting with that ATP, and
so what that means is that it'llcount how much ATP was in that
(13:21):
sample, and so if there'sorganisms there, you're going to
have a higher amount of ATP,Right.
So that's another mechanismthat's fairly easy and that
would be a pen side test thatyou could do in order to
determine how much was there.
And there's waterline specificswabs for that technology.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
So what about the impact biofilms on a producer's
bottom line?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah, so that's a, you know, we're just now
recognizing that waterlinebiofilms can be an issue for
pigs.
We've kind of, like I mentioned,taken it for granted for some
time, and so there's a lot ofsparse, peer reviewed
information surrounding that.
But there are many anecdotalkind of stories that I've heard
from the field and then there'salso a few studies that have
(14:05):
kind of indicated, yeah, theremay be some, you know, potential
benefits in trying to reducebiofilms and as far as these
production parameters really,and so we have seen in some of
these anecdotal cases, increasedaverage daily gain, improved
(14:25):
feed conversion rate, and thenultimately we know that in some
sow farms that pelvic organprolapses and mortalities
associated with those wereactually reduced when water was
treated at that farm.
So there are maybe someindicators that, hey, we need
more research in this area sothat we can further determine
what's the return on investmentfor these particular
disinfection practices andbiofilm eliminations, especially
(14:47):
in these young pigs and maybein more susceptible pigs like a
farrowing sow, those you know.
We just need more research inthis area to really get those
hard numbers.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
So what about when it comes to managing and treatment
for biofilms on the farm?
What's your recommendationthere?
What do you tell producers?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Yeah.
So usually the best place tostart is to start taking water
samples.
So taking water samples yearlyand then ultimately looking at
those coliforms to see, okay,are there some biofilm
components here?
The water testing will actuallyhelp you make decisions on what
best chemistry is going to workbest for your waterline
cleaning and disinfection, foryour waterline system right, and
(15:28):
what your options are.
And so ultimately you need tostart with water testing.
The second thing I recommend iscleaning in between turns and
then ultimately, becausebiofilms grow back quickly, you
need to have a continualdisinfectant after that because
we know that they can grow backand we need to keep on top of
those biofilms.
We know they're probably goingto grow back because some of
(15:50):
them, you know, are getting alittle bit more resistant to
particular chemistries and cangrow in the face of them.
But what we can do is we canjust keep on top of that and
kill anything that's being shedinto the main water line, right
and so and so having thosecleanings in between turns can
(16:12):
kind of restart that process,allow the continuous
disinfectant to work better inthose things.
Now at the south foreign level,this gets a little bit tricky
because those in-between turnscleanings that tends to be at a
higher concentration and it'snot really meant to be used
while pigs are drinking thewater.
It actually can be, you know,have a lot of negative impacts
(16:34):
if the pigs are drinking thatwater, right, so we definitely
don't want to have that happen.
So that causes some challengeswhen we continually have pigs on
the farm at like a sow farm.
So I tend to recommend you knowyou can clean water lines for
four to six hours in thefarrowing rooms, because we do
have some downtime, hopefully,in between those farrowings, and
(16:58):
so that may be a mechanism thatwe can use and then apply
continual disinfectant, you know, as they go through farrowing
and weaning, because those tendto be the more susceptible
populations.
If you do have specific waterlines that are kind of down, you
know, and you don't have pigsin them, you could try to
disinfect those.
But it does get a little bitmore challenging just because
(17:20):
the water systems aren't builtfor that in sow farms, right?
Speaker 1 (17:24):
now at least.
So you mentioned testing once ayear.
Is there a certain time of yearthat's more optimal for that
testing?
Is it like when thetemperatures are warmer outside,
or have you seen any differencethere?
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Yeah, so water trace minerals tend to be pretty much
the same over time, but you cansee some changes.
We have seen some changeshappen, actually over a few days
, but I think spring and fall isreally the general
recommendation either one ofthose and do a full water
quality panel testing then.
But your coliforms, you mayneed to do more frequent testing
(18:00):
.
So you know, like once a turnor multiple times a turn,
depending on you know thedifferent resources that you
have available for that, just tokeep monitoring that over time.
So that's generally what youknow I would recommend.
Ultimately, we need moreresearch to you know, help
determine what are the besttimes.
(18:22):
You know that would have thebest impact or the best
representation of what's trulyhappening in the farm.
All of that is, you know,research that needs to be
completed.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
So key takeaways to leave our audience with here
today.
What do you want producers toknow?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Yeah, so really we're learning about water quality,
waterline biofilms and how todevelop these best practices for
producers every day.
So it is a rapidly evolvingarea of study, so stay tuned and
ultimately, we just need tobring more awareness to this
issue and realize that biofilmscan have an impact on health,
(18:57):
productivity and, ultimately,antimicrobial resistance as well
.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Sounds like down the road we're going to have to have
you back for some updates.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yeah, that would be great.
Thank you so much again for theopportunity to share today.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
This episode of Feedstuffs in Focus has been
brought to you by FarmgateAnimal Health, a growing
business that puts livestockfirst.
Farmgate provides a provenportfolio of technically
supported, high-quality productsthat are the foundation of
custom herd health protocols.
By offering multiple optionsfor active ingredients,
concentrations andadministration routes, farmgate
(19:31):
provides you with choices to fityour needs, backed by a team
with technical expertise to getthe results that you want.
I'm Sarah Muirhead and you havebeen listening to Feedstuffs In
Focus.
If you would like to hear moreconversations about some of the
big issues affecting thelivestock, poultry grain and
animal feed industries,subscribe to this podcast on
(19:51):
your favorite podcast channel.
Until next time, have a greatday and thank you for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!