研究者发现真菌可能是猪重大呼吸道疾病的先兆

　　AUSTRIA - Respiratory diseases in pigs typically involve multiple infections from different pathogens. Some pathogens play a greater role than others in the progression of the disease. The fungus Pneumocystis carinii is a relatively common cause of pneumonia in Austrian pigs, but its role has so far remained largely unexplored. Pneumocystis is considered to be less dangerous than other pathogens, as it probably requires other underlying conditions to sufficiently weaken the immune defence of the animals first.A research team from Vetmeduni Vienna has now demonstrated the susceptibility of piglets to the fungus as well as its relation with other pathogens in the progression of the disease. Their research has shown that the fungus plays a more important role in pneumonia than had previously been assumed. Detecting pneumocystis in a medical examination requires a lung lavage, which, however, is less stressful to the animals than other sampling methods.

　　猪的呼吸道疾病通常涉及来自不同病原体的多重感染。有些病原体在疾病的形成过程中比其他病原体发挥的作用更大。卡氏肺囊虫真菌(fungus Pneumocystis carinii)是一种在奥地利生猪肺炎中相对常见的病原，但迄今为止还未发现它的作用。由于它很可能需要潜在疾病先削弱动物体内的免疫功能，因此人们认为肺孢子虫比其他病原体的危险要更小。来自奥地利Vetmeduni Vienna公司的一支研究团队也已经证明，真菌与其相关病原体在疾病的形成中对猪的感染性更强。他们的研究显示，真菌在肺炎中的角色比先前假设的病原体更为重要。医学检查中的肺炎检测要求为肺灌洗术，相比其他抽样方法，这项检测技术可以让动物变得不那么紧张。