Evaluation of the presence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in packaged pig meat using virus isolation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method
Abstract
An investigation was carried out to assess the potential presence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in packaged pig meat. Samples of meat were collected at the processing plants and were sent to the laboratory for testing by virus isolation and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Samples collected at four plants were randomly selected from lots of packaged pig meat from different slaughtering days and were sent frozen to the laboratory. Homogenates of meat were prepared and were inoculated onto MARC-145 cells and after two passages the presence of PRRSV was monitored by indirect immunofluorescence staining using PRRSV specific monoclonal antibody. All pig meat samples (six pools of meat samples from 73 different lots = 438 total homogenates) tested were found negative by virus isolation. Primers from open reading frames 6 and 7 were designed and a RT-PCR assay was developed and was demonstrated to detect both North American and European PRRSV isolates. Using this assay virus was detected at a concentration as low as 0.355 infectious virions per ml in supernatant of PRRSV infected cells. This RT-PCR assay could detect PRRS viral nucleic acid from various tissue samples of experi...Continue Reading