Prevalence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus detection in aborted fetuses,mummified fetuses and stillborn piglets using quantitative polymerase chain reaction

The objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of porcinereproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus detection in aborted fetuses (n=32),mummified fetuses (n=30) and stillborn piglets (n=27) from 10 swine herds in Thailandusing quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Pooled organs and umbilical cord fromeach fetus/piglet were homogenized and subjected to RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis. TheqPCR was carried out on the ORF7 of the PRRS viral genome using fluorogenic probes foramplified product detection. The results revealed that 67.4% (60/89) of the specimenscontained PRRS virus. The virus was found in 65.6% (21/32) of aborted fetuses, 63.3%(19/30) of mummified fetuses and 74.1% (20/27) of stillborn piglets(P=0.664). Genotype 1, genotype 2 and mixed genotypes of PRRS virus weredetected in 19.1% (17/89), 25.8% (23/89) and 22.5% (20/89) of the specimens, respectively(P=0.316). PRRS virus antigen was retrieved from bothnon-PRRS-vaccinated herds (68.2%, 45/66) and PRRS-vaccinated herds (65.2%, 15/23)(P=0.794). These findings indicated that these specimens are importantsources of the PRRS viral load and the viral shedding within the herd. Thus, intensivecare on the routine management of dead fetuses and stillborn piglets in PRRSvirus-positive herds should be emphasized.     

反转录聚合酶链式反应检测猪繁殖与呼吸综合征持续性感染

猪繁殖与呼吸综合征感染的特点之一，是持续性的感染和病毒血症。本研究利用反转录滞酶链式反应检测了ＰＲＲＳＶ ＢＪ－４株单独感染ＳＰＦ仔猪和接种ＰＲＲＳＶ ＢＪ－４后再接种猪瘟疫苗不同时间的血清中病毒的存在，结果显示在感染２４h后的血甭样口 中就发现有病毒ＲＮＡ存在，病毒血症及少持续到感染后３７天，到５０天时已经消失，ＰＲＲＳＶ ＢＪ－４感染后再接种猪疫苗的仔猪的ＰＲＲＳＶ病毒血症没有受到影响。这些结果提供了ＰＲＲＳＶ持续感染的直接证据，解释了实际生产中通过引进临床正常但已经感染了猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒的猪群造成猪场内病毒的传和长期感染的存在，为采用合理的措施控制疾病提供了依据。     

Prevalence of porcine circovirus type 2 in aborted fetuses and stillborn piglets

A retrospective study of natural cases of abortion, recorded between October 2000 and September 2002, was made to determine the prevalence of abortions associated with porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2). The virus was detected by PCR, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation. A total of 46 (13.1 per cent) of 350 aborted fetuses and stillborn piglets were positive for PCV-2 by PCR, and the virus was detected in fetuses at all stages of gestation. Viral antigen was detected in macrophages from the aborted fetuses and stillborn piglets by immunohistochemistry, and viral DNA was detected by in situ hybridisation.     

A comparison of virus isolation, polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization for the detection of porcine circovirus 2 and porcine parvovirus in experimentally and naturally coinfected pigs.

Virus isolation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization were compared for the detection of porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) and porcine parvovirus (PPV) from experimentally and naturally coinfected pigs. All coinfected pigs developed postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), characterized by sudden onset of depression and anorexia. Microscopically, granulomatous inflammation with intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies was present in lymph node from all coinfected pigs at 32 days postinoculation. Of the 200 tissues from 20 experimentally coinfected pigs evaluated, 99 and 58 tissues were positive for PCV2 and PPV, respectively, by 4 techniques. Virus isolation, PCR, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization identified PCV2 infection in 137, 148, 103, and 129 tissues and PPV infection in 107, 132, 59, and 94 tissues. Of the 200 tissues from 20 naturally coinfected pigs evaluated, 109 and 45 tissues were positive for PCV2 and PPV, respectively, by 4 techniques. Virus isolation, PCR, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization identified PCV2 infection in 144, 155, 113, and 139 tissues and PPV infection in 93, 109, 45, and 82 tissues. Because the characteristic microscopic lesions are important criteria for the diagnosis of clinical PMWS, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization for the detection of PCV2 and PPV in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues provide confirmation of a histopathological diagnosis of PMWS.     

Prevalence and association of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), porcine parvovirus (PPV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in aborted fetuses, mummified fetuses, stillborn and nonviable neonatal piglets

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) seems to cause reproductive failure in sows not only in experimental studies. A retrospective study was made with a total of 252 aborted fetuses, mummified fetuses, stillborn and nonviable neonatal piglets to determine the presence of PCV2, porcine parvovirus (PPV) and porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus (PRRSV) by PCR. PCV2 was found in all stages of gestation in 27.1 percent of samples examined. A statistically significant association could be shown between the detection of PCV2 and PRRSV. However, no significant association was seen between the detection of PCV2 and PPV and between PPV and PRRSV.     

Identification of viral pathogens in aborted fetuses and stillborn piglets from cases of swine reproductive failure in Spain

The objective of the present study was to determine the presence of recognised abortifacient viruses such as porcine reproductive and respiratory virus (PRRSV), Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV), porcine parvovirus (PPV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), in tissues from aborted fetuses and stillborn neonates in cases of late reproductive failure in swine. A total of 293 specimens (fetuses aborted in the last third of gestation and stillborn piglets) from 100 different cases of late-term abortions and premature farrowing from 15 different Spanish provinces were studied. PRRSV was detected in 9/100 cases by RT-PCR. Only 1/100 cases analysed (corresponding to a late-term aborted fetus with a negative PRRSV RT-PCR result) was positive for PCV2 by PCR. Neither ADV (monitored by viral isolation plus antigen detection) nor PPV (monitored by ELISA antigen capture test) infection was identified. The results suggest that PRRSV is one of the most important infectious agents, if not the most relevant one, associated with fetal infection leading to abortion or premature farrowing in Spain. Moreover, other viral pathogens such as ADV, PPV and PCV2 seem to have a minor impact on reproductive disease.     

间接免疫酶组织化学法检测猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒感染和抗原定位

以蔗糖密度梯度离心法提纯的猪繁殖与呼吸综合征（Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome,PRRS）病毒SC1株作为抗原,免疫家兔制备兔抗PRRS病毒IgG,成功建立了检测PRRS病毒抗原的间接免疫酶组织化学法。该方法只与PRRS病毒感染猪组织呈现阳性反应,与猪瘟病毒、猪细小病毒、猪伪狂犬病毒、猪乙脑病毒人工感染并致死仔猪的肝脏组织呈现阴性反应。用该方法检测PRRS SC-1株人工感染28日龄仔猪,在感染后7 d即可在肺门淋巴结、胸腺、扁桃体、十二指肠、肺、大脑和肾脏检测到PRRS病毒抗原。PRRS病毒抗原主要分布于胸腺和十二指肠感染细胞的胞浆内、肺门淋巴结小梁周围的淋巴窦和弥散的淋巴组织、扁桃体淋巴结的隐窝及其周边。该法具有特异、直观和敏感的特点,可用于PRRS病毒感染的实验室诊断、抗原定位及甲醛固定样本的回顾性诊断。     

Pathogenesis of in utero infection in porcine fetuses with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.

Porcine fetuses were exposed in utero to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) at stages of gestation ranging from 34 to 85 days and examined 17 to 31 days later to determine the effect of gestational age on fetal susceptibility. For each of the 8 litters tested during the study, all of the fetuses of 1 horn of the uterus were exposed to virus by intraamniotic injection; those of the other horn were exposed similarly to a sham inoculum that consisted of sterile cell culture medium. Viral infectivity titers associated with fetal tissues collected at necropsy indicated that, regardless of gestational age, the virus had replicated in fetuses exposed intraamniotically. In addition, virus had also spread and replicated in sham-inoculated littermates in 3 litters. On the basis of these findings it appears that there may be little or no temporal difference in fetal susceptibility to infection with PRRSV. If so, the lack of early fetal death as a commonly recognized feature of naturally occurring cases of PRRS may be due to a greater resistance of early gestational fetuses to the lethal effects of PRRSV, as suggested by this study, and/or a greater likelihood of transplacental infection during late gestation.     

Double in situ hybridization for simultaneous detection of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus (PCV).

A double in situ hybridization method for the simultaneous detection of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus (PCV) genomes in the same tissue section was applied to lung tissues from 9 pigs in which PRRSV and PCV coinfection had been previously demonstrated. Paraffin-embedded tissue sections were simultaneously hybridized with a digoxigenin-labeled antisense RNA probe for PRRSV and a fluorescein-labeled antisense RNA probe for PCV, and hybridization was detected with anti-digoxigenin alkaline phosphatase/fast red and anti-fluorescein peroxidase/diaminobenzidine, respectively. PRRSV and PCV genomes were identified in the same pulmonary cell types as reported previously in all 9 pigs. In all pigs, PCV-positive cells outnumbered PRRSV-positive cells. A small proportion of alveolar macrophages contained both PRRSV and PCV genomes.     

猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒反转录环媒恒温检测方法的建立

本研究利用PrimerExplorer V4软件设计了针对猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒(PRRSV)N基因保守区6个特异性部位的4种引物,建立了PRRSV的反转录环媒恒温检测方法.利用该方法所建立的反应体系在恒温水浴锅中作用1 h即可得到其特有的阶梯状条带,而且猪细小病毒、猪圆环病毒、猪瘟病毒、伪狂犬病毒和健康猪睾丸细胞的扩增结果均为阴性.本方法对PRRSV的最低检出量为1 ×100个～1×101个基因拷贝.反转录环媒恒温检测方法和普通RT-PCR方法检测临床样品的符合率为96.2%.该方法为现地开展猪繁殖与呼吸综合征的快速诊断和综合防治方案的提出提供了有力的诊断工具.     

Simultaneous detection of porcine circovirus type 2, classical swine fever virus,porcine parvovirus and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in pigs by multiplex polymerase chain reaction

Results from a previous study indicated that there are specific arena surface characteristics that are associated with an increased likelihood of lameness in dressage horses. It is important to understand what modifiable arena factors lead to these detrimental surface characteristics. The aim of this study was to describe the use of training surfaces and arenas for United Kingdom dressage horses and to investigate any relationships between arena/surface variables and detrimental surface characteristics. Data from a questionnaire returned by 22.5% of all 11,363 registered members of British Dressage were used for the study. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were developed with each of the previously identified surface characteristics as dependent variables. Respondents reported that the majority of arenas were privately owned, sized 20 × 40 m and had a sand and rubber surface. The results indicated that wax-coated and sand and rubber surfaces were associated with less detrimental surface properties than sand, sand and PVC, woodchips or grass. Woodchips were most strongly associated with the detrimental characteristic of slipping, and sand with tripping. The findings indicated that any arena surface should have a base, with limestone the recommended surface, and that crushed concrete was best avoided. This information supported previous studies in racehorses that indicated that surface maintenance is essential, especially when many horses are using an arena daily. Problems were less likely if an arena was privately owned.