Polyserositis Induced by Escherichia coli in Gnotobiotic Swine

The oral administration of an 18-hr broth culture of Escherichia coli 06: isolated from a cat to 3-day-old gnotobiotic (germ-free) piglets resulted in bacteremia and polyserositis. Sixteen pigs, selected from four litters, were used in the study. E. coli of the same serotype employed was the only bacterial agent demonstrable and recovered from moribund and dead piglets. Attempts to recover virus or PPLO (mycoplasma) from these animals were unsuccessful. A polyserositis syndrome was not encountered among neonatal pigs in experiments with 14 other serotypes of E. coli; hence it was considered to be a syndrome closely associated with the infection caused by this particular strain of E. coli.