[Pneumonia diagnosis in living swine using lung lavage]

In pigs coming from fattening units with tenacious pneumonitis problems the attempt was made to find an etiological diagnosis in living pigs by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and serological examinations on antibodies against Mycoplasma hyopneumonia, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Influenza-A-virus (serotypes H1N1 and H3N2). In some cases the results of the bacteriological examinations of the BAL were compared with the post mortem findings. Both methods yield similar results. Mycoplasma hyopneumonia could neither be cultured from the BAL nor indicated the results of the serological examinations infections with M. hyopneumoniae. Pasteurella multocida was isolated from 73% of the BAL-samples. Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae was found in 4 from 90 samples. Positive antibody titers against Influenza-virus in most of the sera indicate that the clinical course of Influenza is changing from an acute epidemic to an enzootic disease in fattening units.