Evaluation of the thermo-assisted drying and decontamination system for sanitation of a full-size transport vehicle contaminated with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

Methods: Five donor pigs infected with PRRSV (Day 0) were confi ned within a full-size trailer for a 4-hour contamination period on Days 3 to 7 (fi ve replicates). After each contamination period, a group of fi ve PRRSV-naive recipients (25 pigs total) replaced the donor pigs in the pen for 4 hours. The pen was not washed or sanitized between donor and recipient groups. Recipients were tested for PRRSV by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) post exposure. To test the effi cacy of TADD, the trailer was washed, 15 pre-selected interior sites were contaminated with PRRSV, and the TADD system was applied for 2 hours. Swabs collected from the sites at 0, 60, and 120 minutes post treatment were tested by RT-PCR and swine bioassay. A drag-swab technique was developed to measure residual moisture post TADD.