Does detecting PPV2 in lungs mean it causes respiratory or reproductive disease?
PPV2 was common in lungs from Colombian pigs, but coinfections predominated and direct localization in lesions was uncommon, so detection did not establish causation.
PPV2 was common in lungs from Colombian pigs, but coinfections predominated and direct localization in lesions was uncommon, so detection did not establish causation.
Problem: PPV2 is frequently detected in pigs, but its causal role in porcine respiratory disease complex and reproductive failure remains uncertain.
Methods: The authors tested 165 lungs from 82 Colombian farms, including 146 pigs with respiratory signs and 19 stillborn pigs, for PPV2, PCV2, PCV3, and PRRSV, with histology and in-situ hybridization performed on subsets.
1. PPV2 was detected in 37.6% of lungs and 51.2% of farms, including 34.4% of nursery pigs, 62.5% of grow-finish pigs, and 26.3% of stillborn pigs.
2. PPV2 alone was found in only 3 of 146 respiratory cases and no stillborn cases, while coinfections with PCV2, PCV3, and PRRSV were common.
3. PPV2 was visualized within pulmonary lesions in only 2 of 19 respiratory pigs examined by RNAscope, so detection alone does not establish that PPV2 caused the disease.
Original publication
Vargas-Bermudez DS, Mainenti M, Naranjo-Ortiz MF, et al. First Report of Porcine Parvovirus 2 (PPV2) in Pigs from Colombia Associated with Porcine Reproductive Failure and Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. 2024;2024:1471536.