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Mo J, Stephens CB, Jordan B, Ritz C, Swayne DE, Spackman E. Optimizing sample collection methods for detection of respiratory viruses in poultry housing environments. Transbound Emerg Dis 2022; 69:e2111-e2121. [PMID: 35365975 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.14547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Viral respiratory diseases, such as avian influenza, Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, and infectious laryngotracheitis, have considerable negative economic implications for poultry. Ensuring the virus-free status of a premises by environmental sampling after cleaning and disinfection is essential for lifting a quarantine and/or safely restocking the premises following an outbreak. The objectives of this study were to identify optimal sample collection devices and to determine the locations in poultry housing which are best for poultry respiratory virus sample collection. Chickens exposed to infectious bronchitis virus, which was used as a representative virus for enveloped poultry respiratory viruses, were housed in floor-pens in either a curtain-sided wood framed house or a cement block house. Foam swabs, cellulose sponges, polyester swabs, dry cotton gauze and pre-moistened cotton gauze were evaluated for comparative efficiency in recovering viral RNA. Cotton gauze pre-moistened with the viral transport media had the highest sensitivity among the devices (wood-framed house: 78% positive, geometric mean titer [GMT] of 2.6 log10 50% egg infectious doses [EID50 ] equivalents/ml; cement-block houses: 55% positive, GMT of 1.7 log10 EID50 equivalents/ml). Targeting virus deposition sites is also crucial for efficient virus elimination procedures and subsequent testing, therefore 10 locations within the houses were compared for virus detection. In both housing types the highest viral RNA loads were recovered from the top of drinker lines within the pen. Places the chickens could contact directly (e.g., feeder rim) or were contacted by caretaker feet (hallway floor) also yielded higher levels of viral RNA more consistently. These results will facilitate the establishment of efficient environmental sampling procedures for respiratory viruses of poultry. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jongseo Mo
- Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, US National Poultry Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Athens, GA
| | - Christopher B Stephens
- Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, US National Poultry Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Athens, GA.,Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, Athens, GA
| | - Brian Jordan
- Department of Poultry Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.,Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
| | - Casey Ritz
- Department of Poultry Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
| | - David E Swayne
- Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, US National Poultry Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Athens, GA
| | - Erica Spackman
- Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, US National Poultry Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Athens, GA
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Mo J, Spackman E, Stephens CB. Identification of optimal sample collection devices and sampling locations for the detection of environmental viral contamination in wire poultry cages. Transbound Emerg Dis 2020; 68:598-604. [PMID: 32643291 PMCID: PMC8247023 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.13721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Environmental testing of poultry premises after an outbreak of an infectious disease like avian influenza (AI) or Newcastle disease is essential to promptly verify virus‐free status and subsequently return to normal operations. In an attempt to establish an optimized sampling protocol, a laboratory study simulating an AI virus‐contaminated poultry house with wire layer cages was conducted. Three sample collection devices, pre‐moistened cotton gauze, dry cotton gauze and a foam swab, were evaluated with each of four sample locations within a cage and when sampling all four locations with one device. Virus was detected with quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR utilizing a standard curve of a quantified homologous isolate of AI virus to determine titre equivalents of virus. The pre‐moistened gauze detected the most virus RNA (100% positive, geometric mean titre [GMT): 3.2 log10 50% embryo infectious doses [EID50] equivalents per 25 cm2) in all four sample locations compared to dry gauze (93% positive, GMT: 2.6 EID50 equivalents per 25 cm2) and foam swabs (95% positive, GMT: 2.8 log10 EID50 equivalents per 25 cm2). The highest viral RNA loads were observed from the cage floor, and when the four locations were sampled with the same device. Overall, the pre‐moistened gauze performed the best, and sampling multiple locations within a cage with the same device would likely optimize detection of residual virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jongseo Mo
- Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, US National Poultry Research Center, USDA-ARS, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Erica Spackman
- Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, US National Poultry Research Center, USDA-ARS, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Christopher B Stephens
- Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, US National Poultry Research Center, USDA-ARS, Athens, Georgia, USA
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