An animal-friendly collection of samples from the upper respiratory tract via drinker-swabs for the detection of avian influenza (H5N1) in poultry flocks

To take tracheal swabs from poultry flocks, for detection of avian influenza viruses is time-consuming and involves a high workload for the staff and a lot of stress for the sampled animals. Therefore, an animal-friendly and at the same time reliable method of collected of samples from poultry flocks is needed. A simple method would be a significant improvement in the control of avian influenza, especially in poultry-intensive regions. Swab samples in/on drinkers can easily be taken. When taking water, every animal with a respiratory infection leaves small amounts of its respiratory secretions (mucus) in/on the drinkers. Even before the first clinical signs appear in a flock, the influenza virus is already in small amounts of mucus particle in the drinkers present. By sampling swabs in/on many drinkers in the barn these smallest amounts of respiratory murus from infected birds in the flock can be detected by PCR-technic. In contrast to the faecal samples, the samples from the drinkers contain only a small amount of DNA and RNA from microorganisms The PCR results from this field study allow the conclusion that swabs from the drinkers in the barn yield very reliable and very important information about the presence of avian influenza viruses in a poultry population. However, it is important to take swab samples from many drinkers in the barn. An Influenza monitoring with swab samples from drinkers is rapid, sensitive, specific, reliable, inexpensive and can be taken easily by individuals, regardless of the age and the number of birds in the flock. Detecting the avian influenza virus in infected flocks with swab sampling in/on drinkers is an animal-friendly process with an improvement in the statistical significance of the infection status of a flock.