There’s no question interest in feed biosecurity is increasing. Research has confirmed African swine fever virus (ASFV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), Senecavirus A (SVA), and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) can be transmitted through contaminated feed, providing an avenue for introduction to susceptible pigs via ingestion.
“One way of reducing the risk of pathogen transmission through feed is to test feed ingredients and feed before they are introduced onto farms and fed to pigs,” the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) said in its latest report. “This would only be possible if sampling and nucleic acid extraction methods would allow efficient detection of pathogens in feed.”
In a SHIC-funded study, principal investigator Diego Diel of Cornell University and colleagues focused on comparing the performance of three commercially available nucleic acid extraction kits (CORE, IndiMag, MVP II). Results show the CORE extraction kit outperformed the other two kits evaluated, SHIC said.
The kits were tested on samples spiked with porcine reproductive and respiratory virus (PRRSV), SVA, and PEDV. Feed samples were previously collected as part of a transportation study with PCR testing done in another veterinary diagnostic lab, but offered to this project for further collaboration on adding to PCR extraction comparisons.
SHIC reports that overall samples extracted with the CORE kit presented lower Ct value (for PRRSV and SVA) and a higher sensitivity when compared to samples extracted with MVPII or the IndiMag.
“One of the key issues that remains to be further addressed in future studies is the sampling method to be used for large volumes of feed or feed ingredients,” SHIC noted.
This initial comparison involved the direct contrast among three extraction methods performed at Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center (MagMax CORE, IndiMag and MVP II). This study was conducted with 28 sample supernatants that had been previously collected and tested for PRRSV, SVA and PEDV.
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