The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique based on amplification of specific DNA sequences/ the products of which may be detected using electrophoresis (Saiki et al., 1985). The DNA sequences from Serpulina hyodysenteriae, the causative agent of swine dysentery (SD) (Combs and Hampson/ 1992), and from the spirochaete previously called "Anguillina coli" (Lee et al., 1993), which is associated with intestinal spirochaetosis (IS) (Park et al., 1995), were used to design PCR tests, and these were applied to the detection of these bacteria in pigs
