Author
 |
Wesley, Ronald |
|
Submitted to: Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/2002 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: The porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) is a syndrome where a swine respiratory virus and pathogenic bacteria lead to severe respiratory disease in large confinement herds, and often the complex is referred to as the "18-week wall." These respiratory diseases are the most costly priority for the modern swine industry and porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) is one of the viral agents involved in the syndrome. In this research paper, I studied the decay of antibody titer following infection with PRCV and found that pigs can be serologically negative for PRCV as early as 42 weeks post exposure. Additionally, by 8 weeks post exposure, it was found to be safe to transfer PRCV-recovered pigs into a herd without transmitting the virus to susceptible pigs. This research will benefit swine producers and research scientists that need to understand the true immunological status of mature pigs used in research experiments. Technical Abstract: Ten female neonatal piglets were infected with porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) in order to measure the decay of specific neutralizing antibody. By 42 weeks postexposure, 1 of the gilts was serologically negative (<5) for PRCV and by 48 weeks, 2 more gilts were serologically negative. This data demonstrates that young mature gilts can be serologically negative, and yet they could have been exposed to PRCV. Sentinel pigs were commingled at 8 weeks postexposure and no virus transmission occurred. |