Enterococcus hirae is a bacteria that naturally occurs in the intestines of humans and farm animals.(4) However, this bacteria is more common in farm animals and in some cases can cause serious infections. Generally, Enterococcus hirae is resistant to many antibiotics making it difficult to be treated.(5) Therefore, it is important to understand the dangers of this bacteria and how to prevent it within your farm.  

The dangers of Enterococcus hirae for animals

Enterococcus hirae causes various problems in poultry, such as diarrhoea, endocarditis (heart valve infection) or bloodstream infections.(1) In pigs, however,  E. hirae results in frequent defecation of loose or watery diarrhoea and rough hair coat.(2) Furthermore, specifically in cows, this bacteria might be one of the reasons for mastitis which can stop milk production in the udder.(3) All of the above mentioned diseases can lead to less feed intake, dehydration or in more serious cases even death. Additionally, Enterococci (Enterococcus) have a high tolerance to various temperatures (10 to 45 degrees Celsius) and can survive in acid levels of 4.6-9.9 pH.

It is important to know that Enterococcus hirae can spread through contaminated surfaces and materials, such as drinking troughs and feeders. Hence, it is important to take good hygiene measures to prevent an outbreak.

How to prevent problems?

As previously mentioned, good hygiene measures can prevent an outbreak of Enterococcus. Therefore, disinfection of the drinking water, drinking troughs or bowls and feeders is essential. The animal and human friendly disinfectant HOCl can be produced in-situ with the Watter system and minimise the risk of Enterococcus hirae presence on your farm. 

The Watter system is connected directly to the drinking water supply via a dosing pump. It produces Watter Disinfection Solution (WDS) that is continuously added into the drinking water for your animals. WDS is electrochemically activated water that acts as a natural disinfectant with HOCl as it’s active substance. HOCl is present in the white blood cells of all mammals to fight infections therefore it is environmentally-friendly and safe to be used by humans and animals. This disinfectant is effective against many viruses, bacteria, fungi, and yeasts including Enterococcus hirae, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and more.

References

1. Chadfield MS, Christensen JP, Juhl-Hansen J, Christensen H, Bisgaard M. Characterization of Enterococcus hirae outbreaks in broiler flocks demonstrating increased mortality because of septicemia and endocarditis and/or altered production parameters. Avian Dis. 2005 Mar;49(1):16-23. doi: 10.1637/7205-050604. PMID: 15839407. 
2. Larsson J, Lindberg R, Aspán A, Grandon R, Westergren E, Jacobson M. Neonatal piglet diarrhoea associated with enteroadherent Enterococcus hirae. J Comp Pathol. 2014 Aug-Oct;151(2-3):137-47. doi: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2014.04.003. Epub 2014 Jun 7. PMID: 24915885.
3. Różańska, H., Lewtak-Piłat, A., Kubajka, M., & Weiner, M. (2019). Occurrence of Enterococci in Mastitic Cow's Milk and their Antimicrobial Resistance. Journal of veterinary research, 63(1), 93–97. https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2019-0014 
4. Said, M. S., Tirthani, E., & Lesho, E. (2022, May 2). Enterococcus infections. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK567759/
5. Zaheer, R., Cook, S. R., Barbieri, R., Goji, N., Cameron, A., Petkau, A., Polo, R. O., Tymensen, L., Stamm, C., Song, J., Hannon, S., Jones, T., Church, D., Booker, C. W., Amoako, K., Van Domselaar, G., Read, R. R., & McAllister, T. A. (2020). Surveillance of Enterococcus spp. reveals distinct species and antimicrobial resistance diversity across a One-Health continuum. Scientific reports, 10(1), 3937. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61002-5