Antibodies against 12 serotypes of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in finnish slaughter sows.

To determine the prevalence of A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes in Finnish pig populations, 692 blood samples of sows were randomly collected from Finnish slaughterhouses. These were assayed with a direct ELISA for 12 Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes. The specificity of the ELISA was tested using rabbit antisera against these serotypes. Cross-reactions were detected between serotypes 6 and 8 and between serotypes 1, 9 and 11, and serotype 5 antiserum reacted with serotype 6 antigen, but the other serotypes did not cross-react. When assaying the blood samples serotype 3 and 2 antibodies were found in 51% and 26% of samples, respectively. Other serotypes were found only in smaller numbers. Most of the samples, 61%, had antibodies towards some serotype of A. pleuropneumoniae. Antibodies towards serotypes 2 and 3 were found in pigs throughout Finland.