Veterinary researchers at Iowa State University are refining a method of collecting diagnostic samples from swine that both the pigs and the producers are happy about. I-S-U Professor Jeff Zimmerman says they’ve been developing and perfecting the process over the past decade.

Zimmerman says taking individual blood samples from pigs to monitor infections imposes cost and time constraints on veterinarians and on pork producers.

Those oral fluid samples are obtained simply by hanging a length of rope in the pig’s pen.
The alternative for the pig is getting roped, restrained and stuck with a needle. For the farmer, too, it’s a much easier process than trying to wrestle a pig. Oral fluid samples collected with rope can help veterinarians detect a wide variety of infections, including foot and mouth disease and classical swine fever. Zimmerman says the new technique is gaining wide acceptance among veterinarians and producers.