Effects of atmospheric ammonia on pulmonary bacterial clearance in the young pig

Young pigs were exposed to an aerosol of a nonpathogenic strain of Escherichia coli and then were retained in air-pollutant exposure chambers for a 2-hour clearance period. In series 1 (n = 80 pigs), 40 exposed young pigs (principals; 15.5 days of age) were placed in an atmosphere of filtered room air + 50 ppm of atmospheric NH3 during the clearance period; control pigs were exposed to filtered room air without added NH3. In series 2 (n = 24 pigs), 12 exposed young pigs (principals; 6.2 days of age) were similarly maintained, but at a lower concentration of atmospheric NH3 (75 ppm). At the end of the clearance period pigs were killed and pulmonary bacterial clearance was determined. Pigs kept in the NH3-contaminated atmospheres (either concentration) harbored more bacteria, on the average, in their lungs than did the controls. If series 1 and 2 data were combined, pigs kept in the NH3-contaminated atmospheres had 51% more bacteria in their lungs than did the controls. Pulmonic weight and ratio of pulmonic weight to body weight of pigs kept in the NH3-contaminated atmosphere were greater than those of the controls in series 1, but not in series 2. Gross and histopathologic examinations of lung tissue generally revealed no differences between controls and principals in either series 1 or 2.