Serologic survey for Bordetella bronchiseptica in Nebraska specific-pathogen-free pigs

The frequency of Bordetella bronchiseptica infection in Nebraska specific-pathogen-free (SPF) pigs was determined by serologic and bacteriologic cultural analysis. Serum samples from non-SPF herds were tested for comparison. A total of 1,282 of 1,397 (92%) of the SPF pigs tested had antibody to B bronchiseptica; 37 of 220 (17%) were culture-positive, and 67 of 4125 (1.6%) were considered suspicious for atrophic rhinitis during slaughter inspection. A higher percentage of the non-SPF pigs had titers to B bronchiseptica (642 of 659 pigs or 97% of the pigs tested). There was no relationship between the B bronchiseptica antibody titer, the isolation of B bronchiseptica, or the frequency of gross lesions of atrophic rhinitis from pigs within the herd. The serum agglutination test may be a more reliable procedure for determining the herd prevalence of B bronchiseptica than isolation of the organism by cultural methods.