High Prevalence of Porcine Circovirus 3 in Hungarian Pig Herds: Results of a Systematic Sampling Protocol

Abstract

Porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) is an emerging pathogen that has been reported worldwide in all ages of healthy and clinically ill pigs. The presence of this virus in Hungary has been confirmed in a commercial farm experiencing reproductive failures, but there were no data on the circulation of PCV3 in the country. Here we report the prevalence and the genetic diversity of PCV3 in Hungarian herds. To estimate the prevalence, 1855 serum samples, 176 oral fluid and 97 processing fluid samples were collected in a systematic, cross-sectional method from 20 large scale swineherds and tested by real-time qPCR. PCV3 was present in at least one type of diagnostic matrix in 19 out of the 20 (95%) pig farms. The highest detection rates were observed in the processing fluid samples (61%), but 41% of the oral fluid and 23% of the serum samples were positive. The virus was found in all age groups, and slightly more adult animals were infected than growing pigs, but the viral burden was lower amongst them. Phylogenetic analysis of nine complete genomes, obtained from either the sampled herds or organ samples of PCV3-positive carcasses, showed high nucleotide identity between the detected sequences, which all belonged to the PCV3a genotype. Our results indicate that PCV3 is widespread in Hungary, but in most cases, the virus seems to circulate subclinically, infecting all age groups and production phases without the presence of apparent clinical disease.

Detection and Complete Genomic Analysis of Porcine circovirus 3 (PCV3) in Diarrheic Pigs from the Dominican Republic: First Report on PCV3 from the Caribbean Region

“…The rates of detection of PCV3 on the pig farm in Villa Mella, Cabrera, and Pedro brand were 14/50 (28%), 7/34 (20.6%), and 0/16 (0%), respectively ( Table 1 ). Although PCV3 has been reported in all stages of pig production, some researchers have proposed that the prevalence of PCV3 is highest in piglets and declines with age, whilst other studies did not find any correlation between PCV3 detection rates and different porcine age groups [ 5 , 9 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. In the present study, the rates of detection of PCV3 were higher in piglets (6/17; 35.3%) and growers (6/17; 35.3%) compared to other porcine age groups that were represented with a sufficient number of samples (weaners (7/35; 20%), dry sows (1/14; 7.1%), and farrow/pregnant sows (0/13, 0%)), whilst those in boars and gilts were 33.3% (1/3) and 0% (0/1), respectively ( Table 1 ).…”

Prevalence Estimation and Genetic Characterization of Porcine Parainfluenza Virus 1 (PPIV-1) in Hungary and the First Report of the Virus in Slovakia

“…On most farms, according to the protocol, 100 blood samples were drawn from animals of different age groups, 5 pen-based oral fluid samples were collected from weaned pigs (8-12 weeks of age; WOA), and 5 samples from fatteners (18-20 WOA) [14]. More details of the sampling protocol can be found in the study of Igriczi et al [15]. Upon the request of the farm owners and/or farm veterinarians-after recognizing the presence of the virus in their herds-additional cross-sectional samplings were also carried out in three cases: nasal swabs were collected from 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-week-old animals.…”

First Report of Porcine Parvovirus 8 in Europe: Widespread Detection and Genetic Characterization on Commercial Pig Farms in Hungary and Slovakia

“…The farms participation in this sampling campaign was voluntary, with no significant clinical diseases reported during the period of samplings. More details of the sampling strategy can be found in our previous studies [12,13].…”