[The incidence of porcine Escherichia coli strains suspected to be pathogenic in pigs].

In the period from 1973 to the first half of 1975 the Central State Veterinary Institute, Bratislava, performed a serological typification of E. coli strains isolated from 1567 dead sucklings and weanlings. The pigs suffering from diarrhoea as the main clinical manifestation of the disease came from 10 districts of the West-Slovakian region. The serological typification of the strains was based on slow agglutination in a test tube and the tests concerned the following 0-antigens: 8, 117, 138, 139, 141, 147, 149, 101. The E. coli strains suspected to be pathogenic were found in 29.5% of sucklings and in 50.3% of weanlings, on an average for the whole period of study. The individual serological groups of E. coli were represented in the following proportions in sucklings: 0149 (29.8%) of all serological groups studied, 08 (23.9%), 0117 (16.1%), 0147 (12.5%), 0101 (10.1%), 0141 (6.5%), 0138 (1.1%); serological group 0139 did not occur. The following representation was observed in weanlings: 0139 (42.0%), 08 (19.1%), 0117 (13.3%), 0147 (11.9%), 0141 (8.6%), 0101 (3.8%), 0138 (0.9%), 0149 (0.4%). From the viewpoint of prevention and measures against porcine coli-infections, the most frequent and most important E. coli, strains are mentioned.