Enhanced Herd-Wide Surveillance Testing Strategy for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Abstract Objective This study aimed to compare a novel surveillance methodology to detect Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus against oral fluid methodology in swine herds. Materials and methods Two pilot studies were conducted using two separate, high-risk commercial nurseries in central Nebraska, comparing two different surveillance sampling approaches (DARO Systems vs. oral fluid (OF)) in the detection of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Virus (PRRSV). Each nursery contained eight rooms with an average site inventory of 12,500 pigs. Weekly testing conducted in three of the eight rooms using DARO Systems and OF methodology to identify PRRSV until there was a positive sample, then daily testing of all rooms was conducted. Reverse Transcription-Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction was used for identification of positive PRRSV. Results Surveillance testing using novel methodology DARO Systems identified PRRSV in nurseries on average 3.91 days earlier than OF. Implications DARO Systems allows for a more robust whole-herd sampling technique to rapidly and accurately detect PRRSV 3.91 days earlier than gold standard approaches. Additionally, DARO Systems allows for an unbiased, whole-herd sampling approach. This method enables producers to implement earlier disease mitigation strategies.