Air sampling – using AeroCollect® technology – offers new capabilities for rapid and efficient surveillance testing without compromising animal welfare. With the AeroCollect device, there is no invasive sampling involved. You simply walk around the farm, poultry or pig house holding the device. The device samples the entire flock or herd, capturing and retaining any bacteria or viruses from the air in minutes.
AeroCollect works with just three simple steps
- Walk the area to be sampled for 5 mins. The AeroCollect captures airborne bacteria and viruses from dust, water and cells.
- Send the sample to the laboratory for qPCR testing. No sample extraction is needed; the sample is flushed directly from the chamber. INDICAL reagents and buffers are validated for this step, although other reagents are compatible.
- Same-day qPCR results, usually within a few hours giving vets and farmers rapid, actionable results.
Early detection is enabled with AeroCollect
You can detect an outbreak as soon as the animal starts shedding the bacteria or virus, typically 1–2 weeks before conventional screening would detect it. The table
shows the pathogens currently detected with AeroCollect technology.
Pathogens detected by AeroCollect
Poultry
Salmonella spp. |
Campylobacter spp. |
Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV) |
Gumboro Disease (Infectious Bursal Disease; IBD) |
Adenovirus |
E. coli |
Marek’s Disease |
Avian Reovirus |
Staphylococcus spp. |
Turkey Rhinotracheitis (TRT) Virus |
Pasteurella spp. |
Chicken Astro Virus |
Avian Encephalomyelitis (AE) |
Mycoplasma spp. |
Avian Influenza Virus (AIV) |
C. perfringens |
Swine
Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia (APP) |
Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2) |
African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) |
Swine Influenza Virus |
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRSV) |
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) |
E. coli (F4 and F18) |
Mycoplasma hypopneumoniae |
Validation data Future outlook for air sampling
The webinar presented validation data for Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., IBV, Gumboro, APP, Swine Influenza Virus. For all pathogens:
- AeroCollect showed very good agreement when compared with the gold-standard method (boot swab analysis) and near-perfect agreement when compared to true results.
- AeroCollect technology can detect an emerging infection 2–4 days earlier than boot swabs.
- AeroCollect enables closer monitoring of (for example) Salmonella outbreaks in flocks, potentially saving effort and costs that may be incurred from contaminated slaughter lines, or worse, product recalls.
Future outlook for air sampling
Field studies are still ongoing in:
- Monitoring applications for PRRSV, M. hypopneumoniae, APP and SIV
- Monitoring and detection of PRRSV in infection studies
- Monitoring and detection of ASFV
INDICAL and AeroCollect are also working towards defining the best-practice framework for implementation on poultry farms.
The AeroCollect device has many more potential applications in animals, including in cattle, racehorses and game birds and several new studies are planned. Utility in human applications may also follow in the future.
