Prevalence of Enteropathogens in Suckling and Weaned Piglets with Diarrhoea in Southern Germany

Faecal samples from suckling (n=205) and weaned piglets (n=82) with diarrhoea from 24 farms in Southern Germany were examined for shedding of important metazoic parasitic, viral and bacterial pathogens using culture, microscopic and electronmicroscopic methods. Escherichia coli isolates were tested further for the enterotoxin genes est‐Ia and elt‐I by colony blot hybridization. Isospora suis was diagnosed in 26.9 % and Cryptosporidium parvum in 1.4 % of the piglets investigated. The proportion of coronavirus‐positive animals was 13.4 % and 4 % were positive for rotavirus. It was found that 17.6 % of the animals were infected with enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC; 10.1 % ETEC‐ST‐Ia and 8.6 % ETEC‐LT‐I, respectively). The occurrence of the pathogens was significantly associated with the age of the animals examined (P