This project is designed to improve the productivity of smallholder pig farmers in Vietnam 
through improved health management, particularly of piglets during the pre-weaning period. 
Additional to the health management plan the project will develop and implement appropriate 
rapid diagnostic tests for the principal causes of pre-weaning diarrhoea to improve speed and 
accuracy of laboratory diagnosis. The third partof the project seeks to improve the production 
and efficacy of a locally-manufactured E. colivaccine for the control and prevention of neonatal 
colibacillosis. In this phase, the E. colivaccine, based on three major strains identified and 
characterized by Dr Do Ngoc Thuy during her PhD studies, was tested for safety and efficacy 
and is now being produced by the National Institute of Veterinary Research. The vaccine is 
currently being used in a related CARD project (A blueprint for smallholder pig production 
XXXX) .
                
              
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Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development 
CARD Project Progress Report 
001/04VIE 
Diagnosis and control of diarrhoea in suckling pigs 
 MILESTONE 7 REPORT 
LABORATORY STAFF COMPETENT IN DIAGNOSTIC 
TECHNIQUES 
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Table of Contents 
1. INSTITUTE INFORMATION ...........................................................................................................................3 
2. PROJECT ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................4 
3. MS ACHIEVEMENTS.......................................................................................................................................4 
4. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................................5 
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1. Institute Information 
Project Name Diagnosis and control of diarrhoea in suckling pigs 
Vietnamese Institution National Institute of Veterinary Research (NIVR) 
Vietnamese Project Team Leader Dr. Cu Huu Phu 
Australian Organisation The University of Queensland/Victorian Department of 
Primary Industry 
Australian Personnel Dr Darren Trott, Dr Ian Wilkie, Dr Tony Fahy 
Date commenced April 13th 2005 
Completion date (original) January 2007 
Completion date (revised) April 2008 
Reporting period March 2006-March 2008 
 Contact Officer(s) 
In Australia: Team Leader 
Name: Dr Darren Trott Telephone: 617 336 52985 
Position: Associate Professor of Veterinary 
Science 
Fax: 617 336 51355 
Organisation School of Veterinary Science The 
University of Qld 
Email: 
[email protected] 
In Australia: Administrative contact 
Name: Melissa Anderson Telephone: 61 7 33652651 
Position: Manager Research Projects Office Fax: 61 7 33651188 
Organisation School of Land and Food The 
University of Qld 
Email: 
 In Vietnam 
Name: Dr Do Ngoc Thuy Telephone: 84 4 8693923 
Position: Head of Bacteriology Department Fax: 84 4 8694082 
Organisation NIVR Email: 
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2. Project Abstract 
This project is designed to improve the productivity of smallholder pig farmers in Vietnam 
through improved health management, particularly of piglets during the pre-weaning period. 
Additional to the health management plan the project will develop and implement appropriate 
rapid diagnostic tests for the principal causes of pre-weaning diarrhoea to improve speed and 
accuracy of laboratory diagnosis. The third part of the project seeks to improve the production 
and efficacy of a locally-manufactured E. coli vaccine for the control and prevention of neonatal 
colibacillosis. In this phase, the E. coli vaccine, based on three major strains identified and 
characterized by Dr Do Ngoc Thuy during her PhD studies, was tested for safety and efficacy 
and is now being produced by the National Institute of Veterinary Research. The vaccine is 
currently being used in a related CARD project (A blueprint for smallholder pig production 
XXXX) . 
3. MS achievements 
This report documents progress on the following deliverables for MS 7 (linked to the project 
logframe objective 3: Laboratory staff competent in diagnostic techniques): 
1) Diagnostic training manuals updated. 
2) Competency assessment of NIVR staff to recognise and characterise pathogens and to 
implement the CIP model for sustained productivity improvement. 
3) NIVR diagnostic submission records 
Evidence: 
1) Diagnostic training manuals and procedures updated. 
a. Design of NIVR Diagnostic Services Laboratory Submission and Recording Form 
(Appendix 1). 
b. Diagnostic training manual standard operating procedures (SOPs). The SOPs 
(Appendix 2 and 3) of the Australian Pig Health and Research Unit (a NATA 
accredited laboratory) for investigation of pre-weaning diarrhoea samples, were 
translated into Vietnamese and have now become SOPs for NIVR (Appendix 4). 
2) Competency assessment of NIVR staff to recognise and characterise pathogens and to 
implement the CIP model for sustained productivity improvement. 
a. The NIVR Bacteriology Department has four full-time scientists who have been 
trained and competency assessed by Dr Do Ngoc Thuy and Dr Tony Fahy on their 
ability to identify and recognise the six major preweaning diarrhoea pathogens 
(enterotoxigenic E. coli, Clostridium perfringens type A [bacterial causes], 
rotavirus and transmissible gastroenteritis virus [viral causes], coccidiosis and 
Cryptosporidium [protozoan causes]) in faecal samples. Dr Thuy and members of 
her diagnostic team will transfer this technology to Hue University of Agriculture 
and Forestry as part of the 004/05VIE project in December 2009. 
b. Dr Do Ngoc Thuy attended the IPVS Congress in Denmark in 2006 and the 
AAAP Congress in Hanoi in 2008. She had two papers accepted at both 
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conferences, detailing preliminary and final results of characterization of 
diarrhoeal pathogens in preweaning pigs from commercial and village farms 
(Poster 1), and virulence gene pathotypes of enterotoxigenic E. coli isolates 
(Poster 2). These were both refereed conferences and the posters and abstracts 
have been submitted to CARD as part of previous milestone reports. 
c. Dr Thuy undertook further laboratory training at The E. coli OIE reference 
laboratory in Montreal under the direction of Prof John Fairbrother. A detailed 
report of her research undertaken in this laboratory has been submitted with the 
MS 3 and 6 report. Ten new gene primers were introduced, and Dr Thuy has 
identified new E. coli virulence gene profiles in Vietnam and shown why oedema 
disease is so prevalent in this country. 
3) NIVR diagnostic submission records. 
a. Hard copy records for each laboratory diagnostic submission are available on 
request from the NIVR Bacteriology Department. 
b. A summary of the results of testing for the six major causes of pre-weaning 
diarrhoea in Vietnam over the 12 months of the project is provided in Appendix 5. 
Dr Thuy has sorted the samples to identify those where mixed infection was 
diagnosed and this has formed the basis for her poster presentation to the AAAP 
conference, which has been submitted with MS 3 and 6. We now eagerly look 
forward to transferring the technology to Hue University and accurately determine 
the causes of pre-weaning diarrhoea in our test and control farms in central 
Vietnam. 
4. Conclusion 
The transfer of technologies for laboratory testing for accurate diagnosis of pre-weaning 
diarrhoea has been one of the big success stories of this project. Technologies were transferred 
early in the project and diagnostic staff at NIVR are now skilled in several techniques and 
confidently identified pathogens in samples. This confirmed that many piglets in Vietnam, both 
in commercial and village-based operations are infected with mixed pathogens, confirming that 
greater attention to pig husbandry (including appropriate preventative and treatment strategies 
including vaccination and prophylactic medication) must be initiated. The purchase of the new 
PCR machine and other laboratory equipment allowed the NIVR to accurately profile the 
pathotype of ETEC strains associated with preweaning and postweaning diarrhoea/oedema 
disease. This identified new virulence gene profiles and showed that the F19 strains, which were 
not identified in the early stages of the project are definitely still causing diarrhoea. 
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Dr Do Ngoc Thuy at the IPVS Congress in Denmark.