Researchers Examine Role of PCV3 in Infection in Pigs

The results of a Swine Health Information Center funded evaluation of diagnostic data on porcine circovirus type 3 have been posted to the Swine Health Information Center web site

In an effort to identify associations between porcine circovirus type 3 and clinical signs including lesions and determine if PCV3 could be classified as another emerging disease, the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Lab examined banked tissues from aborted pigs, neonatal pigs and pigs submitted for other issues.

Swine Health Information Center Executive Director Dr. Paul Sundberg says there are multiple types of circovirus and, like PCV2, PCV3 has been found in both healthy pigs and pigs demonstrating clinical signs of disease.

“We know that it is associated with certain lesions that are found in the diagnostic lab, with certain clinical signs on farm but we haven’t done the total investigation yet“

“Almost 20 percent of the tissues that were submitted to the veterinary diagnostic lab had PCV3 detected in them.

“The highest level of PCV3 found were in fetal lesions in abortions that included signs of myocarditis affecting the heart and the vascular system.

“That’s not unusual because we know that that can happen with porcine circovirus as a class.
But we found PCV3 in up to 20 percent of those historical tissues that had been submitted over the last few years.

“I think that’s a significant finding and one that leads us to some further study in this PCV3 category.
At this point we don’t know if PCV3 is actually an emerging disease.

“We know that it is associated with certain lesions that are found in the diagnostic lab, with certain clinical signs on farm but we haven’t done the total investigation yet to be able to absolutely corelate PCV3 with emerging disease.”

Dr. Sundberg says that is something researchers will continue to work on in an effort to stay ahead of the curve.