"Etäpatona" is a joint project of the University of Helsinki (UH) and Honkajoki Oy, aimed at developing a new service model for animal disease diagnostics on Finnish cattle farms. In this model, the veterinarian performs a necropsy on the farm, and a veterinary pathologist remotely determines the diagnosis based on the findings from the necropsy, as well as histological and microbiological sample results (RDA, Remote Digital Autopsy method). The development of the Finnish RDA model will be carried out by performing 100 necropsies on cattle farms, conducted by the attending veterinarian, with the university's veterinary pathologist working remotely.

During the necropsies, histological samples and samples for microbiological studies will be collected. Microbiological samples are particularly important for diagnosing infectious diseases, making the correct medication choices, and identifying cases where antimicrobial treatment would be ineffective. Since there are currently no sample collection kits or routine analyses sets designed for on-farm necropsies, the project aims to develop appropriate sample collection methods, transport media, and establish effective sample shipping logistics.

The objective of this procurement is to conduct microbiological studies, including bacteriological, virological, parasitological, and, if necessary, antibiotic resistance testing of samples collected during necropsies, and provide an assessment on the significance of identified pathogens in the bovine samples. This also includes in the beginning of the project cooperation with the UH project group to identify the best possible sample collection methods and transportation procedures during RDA necropsies, in order to develop the most reliable and cost-effective approach. This requires specialized expertise in evaluating the relevance of microbiological findings in cattle samples and herds. The results must be reported in Finnish or in Swedish.

At the beginning of the project, a smaller number of necropsies will be used to test the most suitable methods for sample collection and transport media for microbiological studies (fresh sample vs. transport media). The number of these pilot samples for microbiological studies depends on the results obtained. These methods, developed in pilot studies, will then be applied in the main part of the project for sampling and diagnosing inflammatory lesions suspected to have an infectious disease. The tenderer should indicate what is the estimated cost per sample if bacteriological/virological/parasitological/ testing for antimicrobial sensitivity testing are conducted including all associated costs. Since the macroscopical findings and need for microbiological testing will vary among the necropsied cattle, the actual number of microbiological samples to be processed during the project cannot be determined with certainty at the outset. The tender must also indicate if the estimated costs include sample collection and transportation equipment.

DELIVERY OF SAMPLES

Organ/tissue swab samples from selected necropsies will be shipped via cold chain logistics by Posti, accompanied by a paper form describing significant information about the animal and the macroscopical findings in the necropsy. Samples are coded with the bovines EU ID number.

DELIVERY OF RESULTS

The results should include, at a minimum, the following information:

1. Detection of significant pathogens in the samples, reported at the species or subspecies level (when relevant).

2. For parasitological samples (excluding Cryptosporidium), quantitative results (epg/opg).

3. An assessment of the significance of the findings in bovine samples.

The supplier must provide a reliable and secure solution for delivering the results to UH. Additionally, the results and sample information should be stored by the supplier for a minimum of 6 months.