[Tracheobronchial lavage technique using the transnasal route for the detection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in living non-anesthetized swine].

Tracheobronchial lavage has proven useful to research. The technique has been performed in anaesthetized swine using a catheter introduced by oral or intratracheal routes. The risk of mortality during anaesthesia is not negligible. In our trial, tracheobronchial lavages were realized after introducing a catheter into the lung via the nasal route. The analysis of the tracheobronchial fluid samples using a nonradioactive DNA-specific probe showed the presence of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, one of the major contaminants of swine lungs. This technique does not cause any traumatism to the animal and should be an interesting method for the study of some contaminants of the lower respiratory tract.