ARS | Publication request: TOOLS FOR IDENTIFICATION

Submitted to: Pig Progress
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: April 10, 2002
Publication Date: June 20, 2002
Citation: REGISTER, K.B. TOOLS FOR IDENTIFICATION. PIG PROGRESS, SPECIAL EDITION. RESPIRATORY DISEASES VI. June 2002. p. 20-21.

Technical Abstract: Respiratory disease in swine often involves multiple infectious agents that may interact synergistically. Monitoring herds for the presence of respiratory disease pathogens permits immediate use of prophylactic measures which may not be effective once fulminant clinical disease develops. Bordetella bronchiseptica is one of the bacteria frequently associated with both upper and lower respiratory tract disease in swine. Recent studies demonstrating that infection with PRRSV predisposes pigs to B. bronchiseptica-induced pneumonia underscore the importance of monitoring those agents, particularly since both may circulate subclinically within herds. However, effective surveillance depends upon sensitive and specific diagnostic tools which are currently lacking for B. bronchiseptica. This article describes DNA-based detection methods for B. bronchiseptica presently used in our research laboratory that are more highly sensitive than traditional methods and which may be amenable to implementation in clinical laboratories.