Epidemiological characteristics of pulmonary pneumocystosis and concurrent infections in pigs in Jeju Island, Korea

Abstract

Epidemiological characteristics of swine pulmonary Pneumocystis (P.) carinii and concurrent infections were surveyed on Jeju Island, Korea, within a designated period in 172 pigs submitted from 54 farms to the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Jeju National University. The submitted cases were evaluated by histopathology, immunohistochemistry, PCR/RT-PCR, and bacteriology. P. carinii infection was confirmed in 39 (22.7%) of the 172 pigs. Histopathologically, the lungs had moderate to severe lymphohistioctyic interstitial pneumonia with variable numbers of fungal organisms within lesions. Furthermore, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) co-infection was a common phenomenon (12.8%, 20.5%, and 48.7% were positive for PRRS, PCV-2, or both, respectively, as determined by PCR/RT-PCR). Infection was much more concentrated during winter (December to March) and 53.8% of the infected pigs were 7- to 8-weeks old. In addition, three pigs showed co-infection with bacteria such as Pasteurella multocida and Streptococcus suis. The results of the present study suggest that the secondary P. carinii infection is common following primary viral infection in swine in Korea. They further suggest that co-infection of P. carinii might be enhanced by the virulence of primary pathogens or might have synergistic effects in the pigs with chronic wasting diseases.

Comparison of Pneumocystis nucleic acid and antibody profiles and their associations with other respiratory pathogens in two Austrian pig herds

“…Co-infections in PCS positive pigs have been reported previously. Kim et al (2011) [ 24 ] found that 12.8% of PCS positive pigs were co-infected with PRRSV and 48.7% were co-infected with PCV2 and PRRSV. Furthermore, they identified three PCS positive pigs with concurrent bacterial infection.…”

Retrospective Analysis of Bacterial and Viral Co-Infections in Pneumocystis spp. Positive Lung Samples of Austrian Pigs with Pneumonia

“…Cavallini-Sanches et al (2006) [ 18 ] described a rate of 28% in domestic pigs co-infected with Pneumocystis and PCV2, Borba et al (2011) [ 19 ] one of 20.5% in wild boars. Kim et al (2011) [ 20 ] showed 20.5% cases with co-infection with PCV2, 12.8% with PRRSV and 48.7% with both viruses. In human medicine, only a single case report of a patient diagnosed with AIDS and a Pneumocystis pneumonia co-infected with a new genotype of torque teno mini virus has been published so far [ 11 ].…”

“…To the authors’ knowledge, co-infections with Pneumocystis and bacteria have only been published once in pigs and once in mice so far. Kim et al (2011) [ 20 ] identified three Pneumocystis positive pigs with concurrent bacterial infection. Macy et al (2000) [ 10 ] described a co-infection with P .…”

Coinfections and their molecular consequences in the porcine respiratory tract

“…Several studies have assessed the nature of the infectious agents directly or indirectly associated with respiratory diseases in pigs [7,8,11,12]. In one of these studies involving breeding sows in five French farrow-to-finish herds [12], results indicated that S. suis, a secondary pathogen, was quite widespread among sows-67.1% of the animals being positive using a PCR assay-and PCV2 and swIAV infections were highly prevalent (75% of the sows with antibodies against PCV2 and between 91.7% and 100% of the sows with antibodies against swIAV).…”