3.1. Molecular detection confirms the presence of PDCoV genome
in intestinal samples of pigs suffering from an enteric disease outbreak
in Peru
We took advantage of a widely used qRT-PCR assay that allows accurate
differentiation of most common enteric coronaviruses in swine such as
PEDV, TGEV and PDCoV. qRT-PCR results confirmed the presence of PDCoV
RNA in all (n=3) samples analysed, which tested negative to PEDV and
TGEV. In addition to its qualitative feature, this assay allows relative
quantification. Thus, the viral load was quantified through the amount
of genetic target of PDCoV amplified during the process. Samples had low
Ct values to PDCoV (Ct = 9-14) which indicated a high PDCoV viral load.
From these results, we inferred that PDCoV was involved in the enteric
disease with high viral titers.