Detecting infectious diseases in pigs An acute phase index that measures combinations of acute phase proteins (APP) has been developed and can detect infection/inflammatory situations in pigs. Health © PhotoDisc Acute phase proteins (APP) are blood proteins the levels of which alter significantly during the active stage of an infection. Studies show that certain sensitive three-protein combinations of APPs work well in the detection of infectious/inflammatory processes Such combinations could be used as starting points for new diagnostic approaches in pig herds across the EU. APP combinations containing haptoglobin (Hp), a blood serum transport protein, were shown to be less reliable than non-Hp containing combinations. The reason for this is that pre-infection levels of Hp can alter greatly, making the cut-off value for the protein difficult to gage. It is important to note that all protein combinations should be tested in real-life situations on blood samples derived from herds before a final decision is made on the suitability of each tested combination. Although the proposed method allows detection of ongoing infection/inflammatory situations with a low a incidence of false positives, there are certain limitations. The method cannot be used to declare an animal healthy without an observed elevated APP-level. These research findings provide the impetus for a new generation of diagnostic products, applicable for the systematic and long-term health monitoring of farm hers throughout the EU. For more information, please click at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/appinpigs/