Page 11 of articles about PCV2

We may have some highly efficient vaccines, but we shouldn’t forget that for their application we must obtain good diagnostic information, and that in all cases we should not lose sight of good management and a good control of the concomitant diseases.

Between 1995 and 1997, at the beginning of an epizootic called “maladie de l’amagrissement du porcelet” (MAP), it was observed that the farms that were most affected and that had the most losses, generally presented obvious deviations from what we would consider to be a suitable management of the animals and facilities. This is why Dr. François Madec made a list of management practices with the aim of improving the anomalous situation observed.

The first swine influenza viruses were all H1N1 and were for about 60 years in North America. In the middle 1980’s, there appeared in European pigs H3N2 viruses that were derived originally from humans and had adapted to pigs and were therefore known as human-like H3N2 viruses. These viruses have since appeared in other parts of the world most notably as H3N2 in the USA in 1998. These viruses however contained bits of human, avian and swine viruses and were therefore called triple re-assortants.

The aim of this article is to discuss those differentiating topics which are relevant from a practical point of view and which in some way elude the disease's definition.

The autopsy is always an important diagnostic element for the majority of diseases, and this is the same for porcine circovirosis.

Control of PCV2 infections are increasingly through piglet vaccination now that global supplies are increasing.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infections can be extremely costly causing wasting and increases in mortality.

It is assumed that the most probable route of PCV2 transmission is the oronasal tract, which would indicate that horizontal transmission (sow-piglet or piglet-piglet) is a frequent or very frequent occurence

In the first of this series of articles on respiratory disease in pigs, the causes of coughing were reviewed. This second article reviews the production factors that are associated with respiratory disease.