Revisiting the role of pig serology in the context of Salmonella control programs in countries with high prevalence of infection-a preliminary study

Abstract

In this study, we assess whether on-farm serology may be useful for predicting Salmonella shedding at slaughter. Serology on serum samples collected 60 and 90 on fattening and three days before slaughter predicted somewhat shedding at slaughter with no significant differences among them. Pigs with higher OD% values at these point times would have higher risk of shedding when arriving to slaughter. On-farm serology may help to predict to some extent the risk of Salmonella shedding at slaughter in seropositive fattening units, which may allow for prompt on-farm and slaughter interventions to mitigate the risk of shedding when pigs arrive to slaughter.