A total of 2,703 pig sera from 171 farms in 6 regions in Japan were screened for virus-neutralizing (VN) antibody against transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) virus (TGEV). Although none of the farms had clinical signs of TGE or vaccination against TGEV, VN antibody was detected in 14.4% of sera at 30 farms (17.5%) across all 6 regions. On testing of 263 VN antibody-positive sera from 27 farms by using a commercial blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to distinguish TGEV and porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) antibodies, 78.3% of sera at 19 farms were positive for PRCV antibody only, while 12.5% at 8 farms were positive for TGEV antibody only or for both TGEV and PRCV antibodies. Seven of the 8 TGEV antibody-positive farms were also positive for PRCV antibody. Five months after the antibody examination, a TGE outbreak occurred at one of the 7 farms. These results suggest that most of the detected VN antibodies were against PRCV, and that TGEV infection might be present at some PRCV-positive farms in Japan.
(Research Team for Viral Diseases)
References:
Miyazaki A. et al. (2010) J. Vet. Med. Sci. 72 (7): 943-946
