Alternative Samples for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Surveillance in an Endemic PRRSV-1-Infected Breeding Herd: A Descriptive Study

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.

This week Arnaud Lebret, Valérie Normand, Pauline Berton, Théo Nicolazo, Charlotte Teixeira Costa, Céline Chevance, Mathieu Brissonnier and Gwenaël Boulbria share a descriptive study comparing alternative sample types for PRRS type 1 surveillance.

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Pooling udder skin wipes to detect influenza in preweaning pigs

This is a recent publication from the Torremorell’s lab refining the use of udder wipes to detect influenza in preweaning pigs. It is available in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation.

Key points

  • Pooling of three, five, and ten udder wipes was evaluated.
  • Sensitivity decreased if the Ct count was above 31.5.
  • Pooling more than three udder wipes can affect the ability to detect influenza virus.
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Litter level agreement of PRRS PCR results in testicles, tails and udder wipes samples

This recent publication by former MSHMP post-doc Dr. Carles Vilalta compares various sample types used to assess PRRS status of piglets at the litter level. The paper is available in the Preventive Veterinary Medicine journal.

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Which wipes are better to detect flu: udder skin or nasal wipes?

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.

This week, Dr. Albert Canturri from the Torremorell lab is sharing results on a study looking at udder skin wipes and piglet nasal wipe to detect swine influenza.

Key points

  • Various wipe types can be used to sample IAV from the udder skin of lactating sows. Although differences between wipe types were not seen, wipes that were wet provided a better detection rate than dry wipes. 
  • Furthermore, wiping the nose of 5 piglets within a litter resulted in higher litter detection rates than sampling the udder directly. This indicates that within litter prevalence is a driver for IAV detection using wipes. 
  • Future steps are needed to assess differences in virus isolation among sampling procedures.
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How investigating the piglet helps us advance influenza control

Before we start with today’s post, we would like to wish you all the best for this new year. Thank you for your support and for reading us year after year.
So here is to a new decade, always bringing you science-driven solutions!

Weaning-age piglets are responsible for the spread of many diseases, but in the case of influenza, they are also responsible for circulating the virus within the herd. 

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