Collecting oral fluid samples from due-to-wean litters

Area of Science:

• Veterinary diagnostics
• Swine health management
• Animal sampling techniques

Background:

• Oral fluid sampling is valuable for swine health monitoring in various production stages.
• Collecting oral fluids from pre-weaned litters is difficult, limiting its use for early disease detection and population health prediction.
• Optimizing sample collection methods is crucial for leveraging oral fluids in young pig populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the optimal procedure for collecting oral fluid samples from due-to-wean litters.
• To compare the efficacy of Litter Oral Fluid (LOF) and Family Oral Fluid (FOF) sampling techniques.
• To identify factors influencing successful oral fluid collection in young pigs.

Main Methods:

• A total of 920 oral fluid sample collection attempts were made from due-to-wean litters across four experimental phases.
• Techniques evaluated included LOF and FOF, with variations in rope exposure, duration, and use of attractants (Baby Pig Restart®).
• Optimized LOF (trained litters) and optimized FOF (trained litters with treated rope) were compared against standard FOF.

Main Results:

• Prior exposure to a rope improved LOF and FOF success rates.
• Rope access duration (4h vs 30min) did not impact collection success.
• An attractant (Baby Pig Restart®) enhanced FOF success rates.
• Optimized FOF techniques (trained litters, treated rope) achieved significantly higher success rates (mean 84.9%) compared to optimized LOF (mean 24.1%).

Conclusions:

• Family Oral Fluid (FOF) based procedures are significantly more effective for collecting oral fluids from due-to-wean litters than Litter Oral Fluid (LOF) methods.
• Optimizing FOF collection through litter training and the use of an attractant on the sampling rope maximizes success rates.
• Improved oral fluid collection from pre-weaned pigs can enhance early pathogen monitoring and health status prediction in swine populations.