Epidemiology and control of Menangle virus in pigs

Abstract

Serological evidence of infection with Menangle virus was detected in pigs at a piggery that had experienced reproductive disease, in pigs at two associated piggeries and in fruit bats in the region of the piggery. Two humans were infected. The mode of transmission between pigs is unknown, but spread by faecal or urinary excretion is postulated. This virus can be eradicated by the segregation of pigs into discrete age groups.

Infection with Menangle virus in flying foxes (Pteropus spp.) in Australia

“…We report further serological studies of MenV in Pteropus spp. in Australia and negative attempts to isolate the virus from Pteropus spp., extending previous findings 41,46 …”

“…Attempts at virus isolation from the faeces of 55 P. poliocephalus in the vicinity of the affected piggery have already been reported 46 and those results are included in the present study. No viruses were isolated from the tissues and faeces of 203 P. poliocephalus , 5 P. alecto and 7 P. scapulatus in this study.…”

“…Menangle virus (MenV) was isolated in August 1997 from stillborn piglets with deformities at a piggery near Sydney, NSW, Australia 41,42 and has been classified in the genus Rubulavirus of the family Paramyxoviridae 43,44 . Neutralising antibodies against MenV were detected in serum from pigs at the affected piggery, pigs at two associated piggeries, two humans who had contact with infected pigs and P. poliocephalus from a nearby colony 41,42,45,46 . Antibodies against MenV have also been detected in Pteropus spp.…”

Reproductive disease and congenital malformations caused by Menangle virus in pigs

“…17 These findings are described in more detail elsewhere. 19 Affected stillborn piglets usually had birth weights (1.5 to 2.5 kg) that were above the average for this herd of 1.5 kg.…”

Global veterinary defence: where to from here veterinary science?

“…These are often driven by changes in land use and, in particular, an intensification of agriculture. There are now several examples in Australia of fruit bats as a reservoir of significant viral disease that can affect man and domestic animals 9–12 . In Malaysia, Nipah virus spread from bats to pigs and then to humans, with more than 100 human fatalities 13 …”