H2020 SWINOSTICS Project: Toolbox for field diagnosis of swine diseases

Mobile Diagnostics to Curb Pig Losses to Disease Intensive meat production leaves animals increasingly vulnerable to infections, and inefficient methods for controlling them put both animal and human health at risk. The SWINOSTICS device offers an accurate and mobile tool for rapidly detecting viruses in pigs. Food and Natural Resources Icon Food and Natural Resources In modern meat production, animals are often housed in overcrowded pens, leaving them vulnerable to the spread of infectious diseases. This makes early detection and vaccination crucial to limiting the detrimental economic and animal welfare consequences.

Disease outbreaks will contribute to an expected 10% drop in global pork production from 2018 to 2021, from 113 to 101.5 million tonnes. In response, the EU-supported SWINOSTICS (Swine Diseases Field Diagnostics Toolbox) project has developed a rapid, accurate, on-site, and mobile pig diagnostic tool. Currently, disease monitoring involves laboratory testing of random population samples.

The SWINOSTICS mobile device can simultaneously analyze four samples for six of the most important swine viruses: African swine fever virus, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, classical swine fever virus, PCV2, PPV, and swine influenza virus. The sensors can be reused up to 10 times, with results available after just 45 minutes. “Our device can revolutionize the way controls are carried out in the pig industry, as it can examine populations more frequently and is ideal for import and export border controls,” says Alessandro Giusti, R&D Director at CyRIC, the host of the project. Viral application The device is composed of a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) biosensor. PICs are typically silicon circuits, similar to those in electronic devices such as mobile phones, but instead of transmitting electricity in the SWINOSTICS device, they manipulate light particles (photons).

The surface of the PIC contains antibodies against the viruses of interest. As samples pass over the PIC's biosensors, any viruses present bind to the antibodies. The device measures the resulting change in the refractive index of the light emitted by the PIC. These measurements indicate the presence or absence of the target virus. The device's communication module alerts the user of the result. "As the system reports viral levels, it can be used to indicate the likelihood of animals developing the disease or being at risk of infecting others," explains Giusti. Users connect to the diagnostic device via Bluetooth using the SWINOSTICS app. In addition, there is a more advanced interface and cloud platform for detailed data analysis, targeting researchers, standards bodies, and public authorities. Following initial testing in the CyRIC lab, four versions of the device, along with more than 100 sensors, were shared with the four pilot locations in Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Poland for full validation.

This stage is still ongoing. “So far, the results have been very promising, with sensitivity and specificity above 70%,” adds Giusti. Toward Autonomous Diagnostics The increasing prevalence of diseases in farm animals threatens the availability of high-quality meat, reducing the profits of European farmers and increasing food prices for consumers. Crucially, it also results in more intensive use of antimicrobials, which affects not only animals but also, through the food chain, human health. “Guided by the One Health agenda, our device’s ability to maintain pig health can help solve these challenges,” says Giusti. “In the long term, we view our mobile device as a fundamental step toward fully automated animal health diagnostics for a variety of farm animals.” The device and sensors are undergoing larger validation studies, along with further improvements to ensure greater accuracy and compatibility with industry standards before being marketed.