Infection of Farmed Pigs with Porcine Kobuviruses in Italy

April 1, 2015 — 

Two-hundred eight swine fecal samples from six Italian farms were tested using a kobuvirus-specific RT-PCR with primers that amplify a region within the 3D gene. All farms were kobuvirus positive, with prevalence rates ranging between 24 % and 84 %. Overall, 57.5 % of asymptomatic pigs and 49.7 % of animals with diarrhea were positive for kobuvirus. Sequence analysis showed a different predominant strain circulating on each farm and indicated that the strains detected were related to both European and Asiatic strains. A possible pathogenic role of kobuvirus should be investigated further, since infections with this virus occur frequently in pigs of different ages.

Di Bartolo I, Angeloni G, Tofani S, Monini M, Ruggeri FM; Infection of Farmed Pigs with Porcine Kobuviruses in Italy; Arch Virol. 2015 Mar 27. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25809018