First seen in the 1990s in swine, PCV2 has been observed to be involved in a wide variety of clinical presentations. Thirty years later with millions of dollars lost by producers and millions spent chasing this virus, it is still a conundrum.
The most common form of the disease is considered to be subclinical, write the authors. The evolution of the virus has followed a constant pathway throughout its history. Its propensity to accumulate mutations has helped to generate a high degree of variability in its genome.
Even though vaccines may produce a crossed immune response to different genotypes of PCV2, this does not guarantee that they can offer protection.”
Source: The Pig Site, June 28, 2021. Link. Take home messages:
- In the case of PCV2, a number of cases of recombination have been described, although the reliability thereof is questioned by the scientific community.
- Experts on PCV2 sustain that recombination is a source of genetic variation not sufficiently strong to affect the protection capacity of current vaccines.
- PCV2a, PCV2b and PCV2d are the most widespread genotypes, accounting for 96.31% of the sequenced PCV2 genomes in domestic pigs.
- Even though vaccines may produce a crossed immune response to different genotypes of PCV2, this does not guarantee that they can offer protection.
- Clinical efficacy trials, under either field or experimental conditions, are absolutely necessary to demonstrate protection against the different genotypes and thus meet the requirements of the authorities for inclusion into their indications
Also see: Immunity remains the ‘big frontier’ in disease protection, The Pig Site, May 13, 2021. Link.
The goal of any operation is to keep an animal as healthy as possible, which means keeping the immune system healthy.” – Victor Cortese, DVM, PhD
Also see: Practical use of pig movement data for disease interventions, National Hog Farmer, July 13, 2021. Link.
An understanding of animal movement networks is crucial when evaluating risk of disease spread at the national, regional, or farm-level and informing decisions on disease mitigation and prevention. In addition, evaluating network connections also creates opportunities for strategic interventions that target potential super-spreaders and fragment infection chains in the network.
INSIGHTS: Beyond vaccination, the swine production industry has diligently applied management practices to reduce viral spread. Disinfection, isolation, waste management and other fomite considerations are in place today. These include shower-in, shower-out requirements for production personnel and biosecurity protocols for trucks entering and leaving the farms.
In the U.S. livestock animal health segment, Virox Technologies’ INTERVENTION® disinfectant products < Link>, offer tough, farm-friendly disinfectants. The powerful cleaners and deodorizers are powered by Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide® (AHP®) that cleans while it disinfects, and disinfects when it cleans.