Air Sampling of Pigs Infected with Foot-and-mouth Disease Virus: Comparison of Litton and Cyclone Samplers

The air in looseboxes containing groups of pigs in the acute stage of foot-and-mouth disease was sampled simultaneously with two air-sampling devices: a large volume sampler (Litton) and a cyclone sampler. Although the cyclone sampler was slightly less efficient at trapping airborne virus it was easier to operate. When pigs were sampled individually within a 610 litre cabinet using the cyclone sampler, the mean recovery of virus over a 24 hour period was log10 8 X 6 TCID50 per animal. This figure is four times higher than the maximum amount estimated in previous studies in which groups of pigs held in looseboxes were sampled with a Litton apparatus.