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Clinico-pathological Observations, Virus Isolation, and Direct Immunofluorescent Detection of Porcine Circovirus-2 (PCV-2) from Pig Farms with Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS) in Central Luzon, Philippines
Thesis Abstract:
Postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) is a new emerging economically devastating viral infectious disease of pigs. In the Philippines, many cases of the disease in the field have been observed but these field observations remained unconfirmed. This study aimed to investigate the suspected PMWS cases in six farrow-to-finish, small to large commercial farms in Central Luzon. A total of 20 five- to 12-week-old clinically ill pigs were examined, necropsied, and diagnosed. The morbidity and mortality rates during the disease outbreak were 20-25 percent and 10-15 percent, respectively. Affected pigs showed characteristics compatible with PMWS such as unthriftiness, systemic lymphadenopathy, lymphoid depletion, and granulomatous infiltration in the lymphoid tissues. Other significant signs and lesions involving major organs, which may be due to concurrent secondary infections, were also noted. Porcine circovirus-2 (PCV-2) was isolated from frozen lymphoid tissue samples in porcine kidney-15 (PK-15) cell culture and was confirmed by direct fluorescent antibody test (DFAT) using anti-PCV-2 fluorscein isothiocyanate (FITC) conjugated polyclonal antibody. PCV-2 antigen was also detected in formalinfixed, paraffin embedded lymphoid tissue sections by DFAT. In this study, PMWS was diagnosed in 16 pigs out of 20 pigs studied. This suggests a high incidence of the disease in the major pig farms of Central Luzon. This further indicates that the combined use of the three laboratory methods employed in this study are highly reliable and can be useful in diagnosing PMWS infections and establishing its extent in the country.
