Barcal, B. M. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2026

Comparison of Three Herd-Level Surveillance Methods for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) represents a considerable health and economic burden for the swine production industry. highlighting the importance of disease surveillance and mitigation strategies. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate a novel environmental surveillance approach, referred to as DARO Systems, to detect PRRSV against established serum and oral fluids approaches. The study design consisted of one PRRSV infected seeder pig and 46 naive nursery pigs and each surveillance approach was deployed to assess time to PRRSV detection. Findings showed the DARO Systems surveillance approach detected PRRSV 1-2 days earlier than serum and oral fluids surveillance approaches.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2026

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

ObjectiveThis 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 methodsTwo 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. ResultsSurveillance testing using novel methodology DARO Systems identified PRRSV in nurseries on average 3.91 days earlier than OF. ImplicationsDARO 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.

molecular biology↗