This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.
Sterile swabs are used to collect clinical samples from the pig’s respiratory tract. Research studies have shown that the sensitivity of respiratory pathogens detection can vary depending on the type of swab used for sample collection.
The objective of this study was to compare two types of commercial swabs for M. hyopneumoniae detection by real-time PCR.
Keypoints:
- Absorption and detection of M. hyopneumoniae in nylon flocked swabs was significantly higher than rayon bud swabs.
- Nylon flocked swabs could be suggested to use in chronic infections where the bacterial load could be low.
See the full report for more information on the absorption levels of the two different types of swabs.