Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 16 Jun 1998

Vol. 492 No. 4

Written Answers. - Porcine Salmonella.

Liz McManus

Ceist:

167 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the total number of pig herds in the country; the total number of herds in which salmonella infection has been identified; the total number of pigs in the country; and the total number estimated to have the salmonella infection. [14346/98]

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh)

The total number of pigs in Ireland at the latest Central Statistics Office Survey was 1,717,000. There are approximately 2,400 registered pig holdings of which 729 are designated as commercial units.

A survey to establish the level of salmonella in the Irish pig herd was completed in late February 1997. The tests were carried out on samples from the gastro intestinal tract (caecal swabs) and on extracts from the gall bladder. The results of this survey showed that salmonella was isolated from between 12.0 per cent and 13.2 per cent of the samples taken in seven slaughter plants involved in the survey. A total of 1,282 samples were taken in the survey from 225 pig herds. Further tests were carried out for salmonella typhimurium (St). These showed a 4.5 per cent prevalence of St in gall bladder samples and 7.2 per cent in caecal swabs. Phage Type DT 104 was found in three of the isolates. A later survey carried out in conjunction with the industry broadly confirmed these findings. It is important to understand that the samples taken were of caecal and gall bladder material and that slaughter hygiene at processing plants is aimed at preventing contamination of the edible parts of the carcase from such sources. Salmonella is common in pigs worldwide. Four countries have implemented comprehensive control programmes including Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.