Mycoplasma suis: lower sensitivity of blood smears compared to PCR

In our study, the comparison of qPCR results with microscopic investigation of Giemsa-stained blood smears revealed a lower sensitivity of the microscopic method: only 33 out of 102 qPCR positive blood samples were microscopically positive (M. suis visualized). No relationship between mean qPCR loads and microscopic observation was observed.