Resequencing Microarray-based Diagnostic Assay for High Priority Swine Infectious Diseases

National swine health statistics indicate a growing death rate due to respiratory disease in both the nursery and grower/finished phases in swine (Swine 2006, APHIS, USDA). In 2006, veterinary diagnostic testing revealed that Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome was the most prevalent of the diagnosed diseases in breeding herd and nursery pigs (Swine 2006, APHIS, USDA). Additional diseases that contribute to the swine morbidity and mortality rate include Porcine Circovirus 2 associated diseases, swine influenza, foot and mouth disease, classic swine fever and swine vesicular disease. The proposed TessArray RPM assay is a simultaneously differential diagnosis platform for these and other targeted pathogens of the assay. The single test result can establish cause of infectious disease in individual animals as well as outbreaks of infectious disease in local herds or across swine production communities. No existing test other than RPM can enable rapid differential diagnosis, determine presence of multiple infectious agents co-infecting individual animals, or support epidemiological tracking in epidemic outbreaks to minimize effective response times.