Comparison of a novel rapid sampling method to serum and tonsil scraping to detect PRRSV in acutely infected sows

Few practical methods are available to monitor the PRRSV status of the sows. Common sampling methods for sows like serum sampling, and tonsil scraping involve restraining individual sows and are labor-intensive, time-consuming, relatively invasive, and therefore, have limited use in large-scale production settings. Thus, a practical and rapid method of sampling large numbers of sows is needed. This study aimed to develop a new sampling method, named tonsil-oral scraping (TOSc) and compare TOSc to serum and tonsil scraping in terms of PRRSV qPCR detection rate and Ct values in thirty matched sows, thirty days after PRRSV outbreak. TOSc recovered a mixture of oral fluids and tonsil exudates from the sow oral cavity within seconds without restraining the animals. Results showed that, numerically, the TOSc samples had higher PRRSV qPCR detection rate (100 %) compared to serum (16.8 %) and tonsil scraping (73.1 %). Moreover, TOSc samples had lower average Ct values (29.7) than tonsil scraping (30.7) and serum (35.2). There was no significant difference in the detection rate between TOSc and tonsil scraping (Tukey test, p = 0.992), while there was a significant difference between serum and tonsil scraping (Tukey test, p < 0.001), as well as between serum and TOSc (Tukey test, p < 0.001). In terms of Ct values, there was no statistically significant difference between TOSc and tonsil scrapings (Dunn Test, p > 0.05), while there was a significant difference between tonsil scraping with serum (Dunn Test, p < 0.01), and TOSc with serum (Dunn Test, p < 0.01). Our results suggest great potential of the TOSc as a novel, practical, and rapid tool for PRRSV RNA detection in sows to assess sow herd status.