Porcine circovirus 3 – is it a virus to worry about?

Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) is well-known in the swine industry, but is there reason to
worry about its cousin PCV3? At the Spanish research institute CReSA-IRTA a range of
studies have been conducted lately. In short: there’s a good reason to keep an eye on
it.

At least 5 studies were devoted to PCV3 at the recently held European Symposium of
Porcine Health Management (ESPHM), mid-April 2021. At the event, held entirely
digitally, the Spanish team of CReSA-IRTA led by Dr Segalés and Dr Sibila presented
new insights of this virus, which was discovered and described a few years ago. The
team at CReSA-IRTA started working on PCV3 in late 2016, when it participated in a
collaboration study with other European groups to the first detection of the virus.

Not much is known about PCV3

Not too much is known about PCV3 and few research groups focus on it. Researcher
Dr Marina Sibila commented to Pig Progress, “Overall, we know that this virus is
ubiquitous and that it has been associated with several pathologic conditions. Among
these conditions, the link between PCV3 and reproductive failures is gaining
evidence. However, we do not know, yet, the extent and frequency of this
reproductive failures and, in consequence, its economic impact. To our opinion, this
virus should be definitely included in the differential diagnosis of reproductive
problems observed in the farm. This information will help us to know if the attention
paid to this virus is enough.”

Is PCV3 causing pig health problems?

As a link between PCV3 and reproductive failure seems likely, that particular topic
received attention in the CReSA-IRTA studies. One of the studies presented at ESPHM
was carried out in cooperation with Zoetis, the University of São Paulo and the
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. It zoomed in on the question to what degree
PCV3 could be vertically transmitted from sows to piglets. To that end they assessed
the frequency of PCV3 in sera from gilts and sows from farms without reproductive
problems, as well as in tissues of their respective stillborn piglets.

In total, sera from 60 primiparous and 64 multiparous sows belonging to 3 different

farms without reproductive problems were collected at 2 moments, i.e. around
mating and close to farrowing. In addition, the team tested tissues from 264 stillborn
piglets from these sows, either from the brain or from the lungs.
All sera from multiparous sows were PCV3 PCR negative, while 19 of the 60
primiparous sows were tested positive for PCV3 at either of the 2 sampling moments,
which equals to 31% of the total. From the 264 stillborns, 90 (34%) had at least 1
tissue positive to PCV3.

Primiparous vs multiparous sows

The team wrote: “The rate of detection of the virus in stillborns from primiparous
sows (77 out of 98, or 79%) was significantly higher than that from multiparous sows
(13 out of 166, or 8%).” In addition, they reported, the percentage of lungs being
PCV3 PCR positive was higher (84/258, or 32%), than that of the brain (68/261, 26%).
The researchers concluded, “PCV3 DNA was detected only in sera from primiparous
but not from multiparous sows of the studied herds. The prevalence of PCV3 in both
tissues was significantly higher in stillborns from primiparous than from multiparous
sows. Overall, these results indicated that PCV3 can be vertically transmitted causing
intrauterine infections in absence of reproductive problems in the farm.”

PCV3 virus found in lesions of young dead pigs

Having established the infection rate in cases without reproductive problems, the
CReSA-IRTA team zoomed in deeper on farms with reproductive failure, in a different
study in cooperation with animal health company Hipra. The team investigated 53
cases of foetuses and stillborn piglets from Spanish farms. Apart from PCV3, the
team also checked for presence of e.g. PRRSv and PCV2. In 18 out of 53 cases
(33.4%), PCV3 was detected. The main labelled cells were smooth muscle cells of
arterioles from different tissues such as heart, kidney and spleen; macrophage-like
cells in lung and kidney were also labelled. The team found mild arteritis and peri-
arteritis in multiple tissues of the positive cases.
Of this trial, the researchers wrote: “Since the simple viral detection of an endemic
virus does not imply the causality of the clinical condition, detection of PCV3 within
lesions provides a stronger evidence of putative association between the presence of
the virus and the clinical outcome.”
在這項試驗中，研究人員寫道：“病毒檢測並不意味著臨床狀況的因果關係，
因此在病灶內檢測到 PCV3 為病毒的存在與臨床結果之間的推定關聯提供了更有
力的證據。”

Arthrogryposis and pre-weaning nervous disease

Other papers published at ESPHM investigated other potential implications of PCV3
infection. Would there for instance also be a link between the virus and stillborn and
pre-weaned pigs with nervous disease? To that end, the CReSA-IRTA team
cooperated with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in the United Kingdom.

The outcome there was that “detection of high amount of PCV3 in tissues in
stillbirths with arthrogryposis and in preweaning piglets with nervous disease and
multisystemic inflammation provides good evidence of its likely causal association
with disease on 2 breeding herds.” The team added that these cases were believed to
be the first such report in Europe.

Does PCV3 occur in pork meat?

In another trial by CReSA-IRTA in combination with Zoetis, it was researched whether
DNA for PCV3 was found in both fresh and processed pork products. The answer was
yes in both cases – in total in 67% of the cases PCV3 was found, or 20 out of 30
samples. Remarkably, the team found the virus on all fresh pork products: “All non-
processed samples (loin and sausages) were positive for PCV3 and contained the
highest viral load.” They wrote: “Since the percentage of samples from non-
processed meat was higher than processed one, it is likely that curation procedures
may exert an effect on PCV3 genome integrity. […] Overall, these data likely reflect
the ubiquity of PCV3 in the swine industry.”
Dr Sibila and Dr Segalés added that this detection should not have any public health
implications.
Sibila 博士和 Segalés 博士補充說，這種檢測不應該對公共衛生產生任何影響。

PCV3 in other animals than pigs or wild boar?

Last but not least – does the virus also occur outside swine or wild boar, i.e. in
wildlife species in Spain? The answer to that question appears “no”. The reason for
the research, however, was the fact that PCV3 DNA had been confirmed in Italian
wild ruminants and related hematophagous ectoparasites.

To figure out whether in Spain the situation was alike, the CReSA-IRTA team in
cooperation with the Polish National Veterinary Institute and the Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona investigated samples from a range of animals, like e.g.
hunted red deer, rabbits and hares. They concluded: “The present study indicated
that wild ruminants and lagomorphs do not play a significant role in the
epidemiology of PCV3 in Spain, suggesting that these infections may be caused by
eventual spill-over events.”

Next steps: Pathogenesis of PCV3

All in all, even though the effect and impact of the virus cannot be compared to
PCV2, there is some reason for keeping an eye on this virus. Dr Sibila said, “In most of
the cases, PCV3 infection will be subclinical (of unknown impact). However, to our
opinion, is worthy to include PCV3 in the potential list of viruses causing an increase
of the normal rate of stillborn and mummified foetuses and/or potential cause of
pre- and post-weaning disorders.”
The team will continue to investigate the virus. Dr Sibila said, “Nowadays we are
working on the pathogenesis of PCV3 infection. Hopefully, we will be able to share
the results obtained in the next ESPHM.”