scholarly journals Swinepox Virus Strains Isolated from Domestic Pigs and Wild Boar in Germany Display Altered Coding Capacity in the Terminal Genome Region Encoding for Species-Specific Genes

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2038
Author(s):  
Franziska K. Kaiser ◽  
Anastasia Wiedemann ◽  
Bianca Kühl ◽  
Laura Menke ◽  
Andreas Beineke ◽  
...  

Swinepox virus (SWPV) is a globally distributed swine pathogen that causes sporadic cases of an acute poxvirus infection in domesticated pigs, characterized by the development of a pathognomonic proliferative dermatitis and secondary ulcerations. More severe disease with higher levels of morbidity and mortality is observed in congenitally SWPV-infected neonatal piglets. In this study, we investigated the evolutionary origins of SWPV strains isolated from domestic pigs and wild boar. Analysis of whole genome sequences of SWPV showed that at least two different virus strains are currently circulating in Germany. These were more closely related to a previously characterized North American SWPV strain than to a more recent Indian SWPV strain and showed a variation in the SWPV-specific genome region. A single nucleotide deletion in the wild boar (wb) SWPV strain leads to the fusion of the SPV019 and SPV020 open reading frames (ORFs) and encodes a new hypothetical 113 aa protein (SPVwb020-019). In addition, the domestic pig (dp) SWPV genome contained a novel ORF downstream of SPVdp020, which encodes a new hypothetical 71aa protein (SPVdp020a). In summary, we show that SWPV strains with altered coding capacity in the SWPV specific genome region are circulating in domestic pig and wild boar populations in Germany.

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Przemyslaw Cwynar ◽  
Jane Stojkov ◽  
Klaudia Wlazlak

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious disease that affects the domestic pig and wild boar population. The aim of this study was to describe the introduction and spread of the ASF virus in Western Europe (1960–1995) and in Eastern Europe (2007–2018), with particular emphasis on the current ASF situation in Poland and its challenges and future perspectives. The first ASF outbreak in Europe was reported in Portugal in 1957, with the virus spreading over most of Western Europe over the next 30 years. In Eastern Europe, the virus was first observed in Georgia in 2007, from where the disease spread quickly to other neighboring countries, reaching Poland in 2014. Since then, there have been 3341 confirmed cases in the wild boar population in Poland. Although there have been no confirmed cases of wild boars coming into contact with domestic pigs, the first notified case concerning domestic pigs was reported in July 2014. Since then, there have been a total of 213 confirmed outbreaks of ASF on Polish pig farms. Given the virulence of the ASF virus and the myriad of transmission routes across Europe, the monitoring of this disease must be a priority for Europe.


2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Violeta Santrac ◽  
Drago N. Nedic ◽  
Jelena Maric ◽  
Sonja Nikolic ◽  
Oliver Stevanovic ◽  
...  

AbstractThe Balkans is endemic for nematodes of the genus Trichinella in both domestic and wild animals. The high prevalence of these zoonotic pathogens in animals linked with the food habits to consume raw meat and meat derived products resulted in a very high prevalence of trichinellosis in humans living in this European region. In spite of numerous epidemiological investigations carried out in this region, very few information is available on the Trichinella species circulating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trichinella spp. larvae were isolated from a domestic pig reared in a backyard and from a hunted wild boar whose meat had been the source of trichinellosis in one case. Both Trichinella pseudospiralis and T. spiralis have been identified in the domestic pig, whereas, T. britovi was detected in the wild boar. While, T. spiralis is the Trichinella species most frequently detected in domestic pigs, T. pseudospiralis has been previously documented in domestic pigs only three times in Russia, Slovakia and Croatia. The detection of T. britovi in the wild boar confirms that this nematode is the most frequent species circulating among wildlife of Europe.


2011 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. PANNWITZ ◽  
C. FREULING ◽  
N. DENZIN ◽  
U. SCHAARSCHMIDT ◽  
H. NIEPER ◽  
...  

SUMMARYBetween 1985 and 2008, a total of 102 387 wild boar sera originating from Eastern Germany covering an area of 108 589 km2 were tested for the presence of Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV)-specific antibodies. From 1985 until 1991 and from 1992 until 2008, wild boar sera were exclusively investigated using either conventional seroneutralization assays (n=39 621) or commercial gB and full antigen ELISAs (n=62 766), respectively. Spatial-temporal analysis revealed an increasing ADV seroprevalence from 0·4% to 15·9%, on average, during the 24-year observation period that went along with a continuous spread of the infection in a western direction. During 2006 and 2008, 18% of the 66 affected districts had ADV seroprevalences >30%. There was a significant correlation between ADV seroprevalence and the hunting index of population density (HIPD) of wild boar in the entire study area, although this did not hold true for some regions. Seroprevalences did not differ between sexes but were age-dependent. East Germany has been officially free of Aujeszky's disease (pseudorabies) in domestic pigs since 1985. Although a risk for domestic pigs cannot be completely ruled out, experience has shown that ADV in domestic pigs could be eliminated although the virus was present in the wild boar population. Despite increasing ADV seroprevalence in the East German wild boar population no spillover infections from wild boar to domestic pigs have been reported. To further trace ADV infections in the wild boar population in Germany, a nationwide serological monitoring programme should be implemented.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Vargas-Amado ◽  
Luís Pedro Carmo ◽  
John Berezowski ◽  
Claude Fischer ◽  
Maria João Santos ◽  
...  

African Swine Fever (ASF) has emerged as a disease of great concern to swine producers and government disease control agencies because of its severe consequences to animal health and the pig industry. Early detection of an ASF introduction is considered essential for reducing the harm caused by the disease. Risk-based surveillance approaches have been used as enhancements to early disease epidemic detection systems in livestock populations. Such approaches may consider the role wildlife plays in hosting and transmitting a disease. In this study, a novel method is presented to estimate and map the risk of introducing ASF into the domestic pig population through wild boar intermediate hosts. It makes use of data about hunted wild boar, rest areas along motorways connecting ASF affected countries to Switzerland, outdoor piggeries, and forest cover. These data were used to compute relative wild boar abundance as well as to estimate the risk of both disease introduction into the wild boar population and disease transmission to domestic pigs. The way relative wild boar abundance was calculated adds to the current state of the art by considering the effect of beech mast on hunting success and the probability of wild boar occurrence when distributing relative abundance values among individual grid cells. The risk of ASF introduction into the domestic pig population by wild boar was highest near the borders of France, Germany, and Italy. On the north side of the Alps, areas of high risk were located on the unshielded side of the main motorway crossing the Central Plateau, which acts as a barrier for wild boar. The results of this study can be used to focus surveillance efforts for early disease detection on high risk areas. The developed method may also inform policies to control other diseases that are transmitted by direct contact from wild boar to domestic pigs.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1219
Author(s):  
Maciej Piotr Frant ◽  
Anna Gal-Cisoń ◽  
Łukasz Bocian ◽  
Anna Ziętek-Barszcz ◽  
Krzysztof Niemczuk ◽  
...  

African swine fever (ASF) is a fatal hemorrhagic disease of wild boar and domestic pigs which has been present in Poland since 2014. By 2020, the ASF virus (ASFV) spread across Central, Eastern and Western Europe (including Germany), and Asian countries (including China, Vietnam, and South Korea). The national ASF eradication and prevention program includes continuous passive (wild boar found dead and road-killed wild boar) and active (hunted wild boar) surveillance. The main goal of this study was to analyze the dynamic of the spread of ASF in the wild boar population across the territory of Poland in 2020. In that year in Poland, in total 6191 ASF-positive wild boar were declared. Most of them were confirmed in a group of animals found dead. The conducted statistical analysis indicates that the highest chance of obtaining an ASF-positive result in wild boar was during the winter months, from January to March, and in December 2020. Despite the biosecurity measures implemented by holdings of domestic pigs, the disease also occurred in 109 pig farms. The role of ASF surveillance in the wild boar population is crucial to apply more effective and tailored measures of disease control and eradication. The most essential measures to maintain sustainable production of domestic pigs in Poland include effective management of the wild boar population, along with strict implementation of biosecurity measures by domestic pig producers.


2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 512-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomislav Keros ◽  
Dragan Brnić ◽  
Jelena Prpić ◽  
Danko Dežđek ◽  
Lorena Jemeršić ◽  
...  

Serological data imply that pseudorabies (Aujeszky’s disease) is present in domestic pigs and wild boars in Croatia. Therefore, this study included testing of brain tissue samples collected from 200 domestic pigs and 105 wild boars originating from seventeen districts of Croatia. The presence of pseudorabies virus (PrV) DNA was confirmed in samples originating from six domestic pigs (3%) and one wild boar (0.95%). Positive samples were sequenced and analysed on the basis of a gC genome fragment. PrV strains have shown to be genetically identical and they are strongly related to some representative strains in the relatively heterogeneous Clade A. The results clearly show that PrV is still circulating among the domestic pig population in Croatia. Furthermore, the presence of pseudorabies virus in wild boars underlines the importance of this species as a PrV reservoir. Continued surveillance is necessary to track the viral spread in order to achieve final eradication of the disease.


Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Schulz ◽  
Franz Josef Conraths ◽  
Sandra Blome ◽  
Christoph Staubach ◽  
Carola Sauter-Louis

Since the introduction of African swine fever (ASF) into Georgia in 2007, the disease has been spreading in an unprecedented way. Many countries that are still free from the disease fear the emergence of ASF in their territory either in domestic pigs or in wild boar. In the past, ASF was often described as being a highly contagious disease with mortality often up to 100%. However, the belief that the disease might enter a naïve population and rapidly affect the entire susceptible population needs to be critically reviewed. The current ASF epidemic in wild boar, but also the course of ASF within outbreaks in domestic pig holdings, suggest a constant, but relatively slow spread. Moreover, the results of several experimental and field studies support the impression that the spread of ASF is not always fast. ASF spread and its speed depend on various factors concerning the host, the virus, and also the environment. Many of these factors and their effects are not fully understood. For this review, we collated published information regarding the spreading speed of ASF and the factors that are deemed to influence the speed of ASF spread and tried to clarify some issues and open questions in this respect.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1717
Author(s):  
Carola Sauter-Louis ◽  
Franz J. Conraths ◽  
Carolina Probst ◽  
Ulrike Blohm ◽  
Katja Schulz ◽  
...  

The introduction of genotype II African swine fever (ASF) virus, presumably from Africa into Georgia in 2007, and its continuous spread through Europe and Asia as a panzootic disease of suids, continues to have a huge socio-economic impact. ASF is characterized by hemorrhagic fever leading to a high case/fatality ratio in pigs. In Europe, wild boar are especially affected. This review summarizes the currently available knowledge on ASF in wild boar in Europe. The current ASF panzootic is characterized by self-sustaining cycles of infection in the wild boar population. Spill-over and spill-back events occur from wild boar to domestic pigs and vice versa. The social structure of wild boar populations and the spatial behavior of the animals, a variety of ASF virus (ASFV) transmission mechanisms and persistence in the environment complicate the modeling of the disease. Control measures focus on the detection and removal of wild boar carcasses, in which ASFV can remain infectious for months. Further measures include the reduction in wild boar density and the limitation of wild boar movements through fences. Using these measures, the Czech Republic and Belgium succeeded in eliminating ASF in their territories, while the disease spread in others. So far, no vaccine is available to protect wild boar or domestic pigs reliably against ASF.


Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 457
Author(s):  
Sok Song ◽  
Gyu-Nam Park ◽  
SeEun Choe ◽  
Ra Mi Cha ◽  
Song-Yi Kim ◽  
...  

In Korea, three genotypes of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2a, PCV2b, and PCV2d) have been identified on domestic pig farms, while two genotypes (PCV2a and PCV2b) have been identified in wild boar populations. Here, we investigated genotype diversity and genotypic shift in 91 PCV2 isolates from 1340 wild boars captured in South Korea between 2013 and 2017. Phylogenetic analyses based on the complete ORF2 showed that the 91 PCV2 strains were detected as four genotypes by qPCR screening assay: PCV2a (2.2%, 2/91), PCV2b (16.5%, 15/91), PCV2d (80.2%, 73/91), and PCV2h (1.1%, 1/91). Only one intergenotype recombinant event was detected between PCV2 ORF2 in wild boars (PCV2b) and domestic pigs (PCV2a). Amino acid positions 86–89 within ORF2, which distinguishes the different genotypes, were conserved in all PCV2 genotypes isolated from South Korean wild boars, including TNKI in PCV2a/PCV2h, SNPR in PCV2b, and SNPL in PCV2d. The estimated nucleotide substitution rates in the ORF2 region of viruses from South Korean wild boars and domestic pigs were 5.8145 × 10−4 and 4.5838 × 10−4 substitutions per site per year (s/s/y), respectively. The times to the most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) for South Korean domestic pig PCV2 were 1937 (PCV2a), 1972 (PCV2b), 1999 (PCV2d-1), and 2000 (PCV2d-2). By contrast, the tMRCA for South Korean wild boar PCV2b and PCV2d were 1989 and 2001, respectively. Thus, the PCV2d genotype is prevalent among South Korean wild boars and domestic pigs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-206
Author(s):  
Blokhin Andrey ◽  
Toropova Nadezhda ◽  
Burova Olga ◽  
Sevskikh Timofey ◽  
Gogin Andrey ◽  
...  

AbstractCurrently, African swine fever (ASF) is one of the biggest global economic challenges in Europe and Asia. Despite all the efforts done to understand the mechanism of spread, presence and maintenance of ASF in domestic pigs and wild boar, there are still many gaps in the knowledge on its epidemiology.This study aims to describe spatial and temporal patterns of ASF spread in wild boar and domestic pigs in the country during the last three years. Methods of Spatio-temporal scanning statistics of Kulldorff (SatScan) and Mann-Kendell statistics (space-time cube) were used to identify potential clusters of outbreaks and the presence of hot spots (areas of active flare clusters), respectively. The results showed that ASF in the country has a local epidemic pattern of spread (11 explicit clusters in wild boar and 16 epizootic clusters were detected in the domestic pig population: 11 in the European part and 5 in the Asian part), and only six of them are overlapped suggesting that ASF epidemics in domestic pigs and wild boar are two separate processes. In the Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Novgorod, Pskov, Leningrad regions, the clusters identified are characterized as sporadic epidemics clusters, while in the Ulyanovsk region, Primorsky Territory, and the Jewish Autonomous Region the clusters are consistent. Considering the low biosecurity level of pig holdings in the far east and its close economic and cultural connections with China as well as other potential risk factors, it can be expected that the epidemic will be present in the region for a long time. The disease has spread in the country since 2007, and now it is reoccurring in some of the previously affected regions. Outbreaks in the domestic pig sector can be localized easily (no pattern detected), while the presence of the virus in wildlife (several consecutive hot spots detected) hampers its complete eradication. Although the disease has different patterns of spread over the country its driving forces remain the same (human-mediated spread and wild boar domestic-pigs mutual spillover). The results indicate that despite all efforts taken since 2007, the policy of eradication of the disease needs to be reviewed, especially measures in wildlife.


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