ARS | Publication request: SAMPLING STRATEGIES FOR QUANTIFYING SALMONELLA SPP. IN SWINE LAIRAGE PENS

Submitted to: Research Workers in Animal Diseases Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 12, 2002
Publication Date: November 12, 2002
Citation: O'CONNOR, A.M., MCKEAN, J.D., GAILEY, J.K., HURD, H.S. SAMPLING STRATEGIES FOR QUANTIFYING SALMONELLA SPP. IN SWINE LAIRAGE PENS. CONFERENCE OF RESEARCH WORKERS IN ANIMAL DISEASES. 2002. ABSTRACT P. 78.

Technical Abstract: Recent research indicates that the holding pen at slaughter houses may be an important source of Salmonella for swine entering the food chain. Therefore, efforts to reduce the quantity of Salmonella in lairage pens may reduce Salmonella contamination of swine at slaughter. Furthermore, it is of interest to know if some pens have higher levels of Salmonella than others and if these contribute to a greater degree to level of Salmonella in swine at slaughter plants. Such studies would require a method of quantifying Salmonella in a pen. This study's aim was to determine a sampling technique that would effectively quantify the amount of Salmonella in holding pens at the swine abattoir. Geostatistical methods were used to determine the distribution and relatedness of 100 samples collected from each of three lairage pens to determine if spatial autocorrelation should be taken into account in the sampling scheme. The preliminary data indicated that the fluids found in the abattoir holding pen floor contained an approximate average of 10**3 CFU/ml of Salmonella with a range of 0 to 10**5 CFU/ml. However the pattern of distribution was not homogenous across the surface of the pen. Sampling simulation models examined various sample designs and sample sizes to determine a practical sampling scheme. Sampling schemes examined were random, transect, and cluster sampling. Results of the simulation studies will be presented.