Farmscape for April 1, 2022

Research conducted by Iowa State University is shedding new light on the prevalence of Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease within the U.S. swine herd.
Researchers with Iowa State University have completed a study on behalf of the Swine Health Information Center which looked at veterinary diagnostic laboratory data related to Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease.
SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton explains circoviruses, including porcine circovirus 2 and porcine circovirus 3, have been associated with clinical syndromes in swine, causing organ failures, skin failures, reproductive issues, gut issues and respiratory issues leading to death loss, increased culling and poor productivity resulting in significant economic loss.

Clip-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
There are four different types of porcine circovirus, one, two, three and four, with porcine circovirus typically not having a pathogenic clinical presentation.
The diagnosis and interpretation of diagnosis for porcine circovirus is relatively complex and so trying to understand the diagnostic results, clinical signs seen on farm and understanding the relevance of what is found has always been a bit of a challenge.
So, the goal was really to better understand the epidemiology and clinical relevance of both porcine circovirus two and three in swine herds.
It was important to be able to look over time for the detection trends and also establish the capacity to detect changes in disease patterns because then this can give an indication of the potential association between porcine circovirus PCR results and PCR results in tissues.
That helps producers and vets understand is this clinical disease, is it important or is this just a finding.

Dr. Becton says it's important to track what is happening with these diseases over time to determine if the virus is changing, if there is a new virus or if the clinical picture is changing.
For details on this study go to swinehhealth.org and click the link to the March eNewsletter.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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