A NEW DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR SWINE DYSENTERY

SWINE DYSENTERY (SD) HAS BEEN ESTIMATED TO COST SWINE PRODUCERS IN EXCESS OF 130 MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY, AND IS QUARANTINABLE IN MOST STATES. CONFIRMATION OF THE DISEASE IS BASED ON THE DETECTION OF THE BACTERIA, TREPONEMAHYODYSENTERIAE, FROM THE FECES OF INFECTED PIGS. THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ASSAY IS TIME CONSUMING, LACKS SENSITIVITY, AND IN MANY CASES REQUIRES AN EXPERIENCED TECHNICIAN FOR AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS. OUR GOAL IS TO DEVELOP AN EASILY INTERPRETED, RAPID AND SENSITIVE ASSAY TO DETECT THE ORGANISM FROM FECAL SAMPLES. RECOMBINANT DNA PROBES CAN BE USED FOR THE RAPID AND SENSITIVE INDENTIFICATION OF THE GENOME OF ANY ORGANISM. TWO PROBES FOR T. HYODYSENTERIAE WILL BE TESTED IN FECES FROM BOTH EXPERIMENTAL AND COMMERCIAL PIGS WITH SD TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A GENE PROBE ASSAY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF THIS DISEASE. EXPERIMENTS ARE DESIGNED WHICH ADDRESS THE SPECIFIC DETECTION OF T. HYODYSENTERIAE IN FECESAND AMONG OTHER ENTERIC FLORA, THE SENSITIVITY OF THE DNA PROBE OR ITS ABILITY TO DETECT THE ASYMPTOMATIC "CARRIER" ANIMAL, AND THE COMPARISON OF THE DNA PROBE TO THE CURRENTLYAVAILABLE SELECTIVE CULTURE TECHNIQUE.