Detection of respiratory viruses in cases of porcine respiratory disease
in nurseries.
Abstract
Respiratory disease in weaned pigs is a common problem in the field,
with a complex aetiology of both viruses and bacteria. In the present
study, we investigated the presence of eleven viruses in nasal swabs
collected from nurseries (fifty-five clinical outbreaks) under the
suspicion of swine influenza A virus (swIAV) by cough and fever.
The other ten viruses included influenza B (IBV) and influenza D viruses
(IDV), Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus
(PRRSV), Porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV), Porcine
cytomegalovirus (PCMV), porcine circoviruses 2 (PCV2), 3 (PCV3)
and 4 (PCV), Porcine parainfluenza 1 virus (PPIV1) and
Swine orthopneumovirus (SOV). Twenty-nine swIAV-positive cases
and twenty-six cases of swIAV-negative respiratory disease were
primarily established. IBV, IBD, PCV4 and PPIV1 were not found in any
case, while PRCV, SOV, and PCMV were more likely to be found in
swIAV-positive nurseries with respiratory disease (
p<0.05) although, globally, PCV3, PRRSV, and PCMV were
the most frequently detected agents on herd level. At an individual
level, the prevalence of different viruses was: swIAV 48.6%; PRCV
48.0%; PRRSV 31.6%; SOV 33.8%; PCMV 48.3%, PCV2 36.0%; and PCV3
33.0%. Beyond that, it was common to find animals with low Ct values
(< 30) for all agents except for PCV2 and PCV3. When analysed
the association between different pathogens, PRCV was the one with the
most associations. It positively interacted ( p < 0.05)
with swIAV and SOV but was negatively associated ( p <
0.05) with PRRSV and PCVM. Besides these, swIAV and PRRSV were
negatively related (p < 0.05). Further analysis of suckling
pigs showed that circulation of PRCV, PCMV, SOV, and PCV3 started in the
maternities, suggesting a role of the sows in the transmission. Overall,
our data may contribute to a better understanding of the complex
aetiology and the epidemiology of respiratory disease in weaners. This
is the first report of SOV in Spain.