Porcine parvoviruses are prevalent in commercial pig farms in Poland

Parvoviruses have been circulating in the global pig population for some time. So far, six porcine parvoviruses have been described in pigs including the classical PPV1 commonly associated with reproductive failure in breeding herds and newly recognized PPV2, PPV3, PPV4, PPV5 and PPV6. An association of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and PPV1 (also known as the classical PPV) or the PPV2 with porcine circovirus associated disease (PCVAD) has been established. The association of the remaining recently described parvoviruses with clinical disease in pigs remains unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence rates of PCV2, classical PPV1 and recently recognized PPV2, PPV3, PPV4 and PPV5 in serum samples from pigs in Poland.

Serum samples (n=159) were collected from pigs of different age groups (2, 5, 9, 13 and 17 weeks old) in seven commercial PRRSV positive pig farms in Poland as part of a PRRSV surveillance study. Nucleic acids were extracted from the serum samples using an automated system. All samples were tested for presence of PCV2, PPV1, PPV2, PPV3, PPV4 and PPV5 by real-time PCR assays.

PCV2 was detected in 3.1% (5/159) of the serum samples corresponding to 3/7 farms. PPV1 was detected in 5.0% (8/159) of the serum samples in 3/7 farms. PPV2 was detected in 6.3% (10/159) of the samples in 4/7 farms. PPV3 was detected in 7.5% (12/159) samples in 4/7 farms. PPV4 was detected in 6.9% (11/159) of the samples in 5/7 of the farms. Finally, PPV5 was detected in 5.0% (8/159) of the samples in 4/7 farms. All seven farms had at least two different parvoviruses co-circulating, and four different parvoviruses were identified in 2/7 farms. Overall, 27.0% (43/159) of the samples were positive for at least one of the tested pathogens and among those samples, 18.6% (8/43) were coinfected with two or more pathogens. The majority of positive samples (86%, 37/43) were found in pigs between 9 and 13 weeks of age, which corresponded to only 47% of tested pigs (75/159).

A high overall prevalence of PPVs was identified in serum samples obtained from 9 to 13 weeks old pigs in Poland. Prevalence of PPV4 and PPV5 was relatively higher than previously described in other geographic regions.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.