What is the DARO Real World Advantage?

In a large competition to test our “finding it first” power, DARO went head to head with the industry’s most utilized surveillance tool. We partnered with our Nebraska neighbor, Pillen Family Farms, and their head of health and disease control, Dr. Christine Manquist-Whigham, and swine veterinarian, Dr. Jamie Madigan, to create a rigorous side-by-side look at DARO versus an industry standard, oral fluids rope surveillance (OF). 

Design: Pillen Farms allowed us access to two high-risk nursery sites in close proximity to PRRSv positive finishing sites. 1250 PRRSv negative (naive) nursery pigs were placed per room and tested weekly using both surveillance methods. Once a positive was detected on site, all barns within the site were individually tested daily until both surveillance methods detected PRRSv. 

Results: In every single barn, DARO found PRRSv first. And, not only that, the average days-ahead across 11 barns was 3.91 days, shifting the paradigm for an industry that is striving for earlier pathogen detection. DARO reached 100% disease detection across all barns within 3 days when it took oral fluids 9 days to do  the same. DARO’s early advantage is highly significant.

An advantage this wide has the potential to turn the tables for PRRSv spread. The DARO tool is shining a light on the insidious spread of PRRSv, giving producers and vets an upper hand on the virus for the first time. DARO finds it first, and caretakers contain it fast, keeping their swine herds safe and healthy.

See Study Preprint to JSHAP here.