990255 New Test Could Help Pork Producers

Washington - A new test designed by Agriculture Department researchers could help detect a disease-causing bacteria that cost pork producers some $17 million a year.

Tests now can take five to seven days and are not always reliable. But a scientist with the Agricultural Research Service in Ames, Iowa, has designed a test that does the job in just three days. Extra time gives farmers a chance to cut losses by combining treatments such as antibiotic therapy, vaccination and getting rid of the sick pigs.

Two bacteria are the culprits behind atrophic rhinitis, which leads to weight loss and delays in delivering pork to market. Pigs with this disease also are susceptible to pneumonia.

The disease, which is highly contagious and spreads quickly among pigs in confinement houses, is linked to two toxin-producing bacteria. The bacteria reduce long bone growth, causing shortened and twisted snouts on severely infected pigs.

But detecting the disease can create costly delays for farmers because snout deformities are not always obvious. Karen B. Register, a molecular microbiologist with the Agricultural Research Service, has designed a test using probes made from the genetic material of the bacteria that can produce results in three days.

The test targets the genes in a nasal or tonsil swab taken from a live pig. Bacteria in the samples are grown and placed on a paper-like sheet of nylon. A pink or purple color indicates the presence of one of the two toxin-producing bacteria.

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