Survival of certain pathogenic organisms in swine lagoon effluent

Six pigs from a closed herd with no evidence or history of salmonellosis or swine dysentery were fed effluent from an anaerobic lagoon on a farm where salmonellosis and swine dysentery were enzootic. Salmonella saint-paul was isolated from the effluent and fromthe feces and certain tissues of the pigs. Clinical signs typical of swine dysentery and enteric shedding of large numbers of spirochetes with the characteristics of Treponema hyodysenteriae were noted in 5 of the 6 pigs.