Prevalence of hindgut pathogens Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Salmonella enterica in wild boars in northwest Spain

Enteric infections in wild boars pose a risk to pig production, public health, and food safety, as some of these pathogens are capable of crossing the species barrier, infecting other suids, other animals, and even humans. The main objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of two relevant hindgut pathogens of swine, Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Salmonella enterica, in wild boars from hunting reserves in the provinces of Zamora and Valladolid, Spain and to investigate the role of wild boar as a potential reservoir. Our results showed a low prevalence of faecal shedders for both bacteria (3.3 %) and allow us to conclude that wild boars shot in northwestern Spain do not currently play a relevant role as reservoirs for B. hyoddysenteriae and S. enterica.