Healthy Pigs in Quebec Found to Harbour Rotavirus A

CANADA - Healthy pigs on 10 farms in Quebec were found to be infected with rotavirus A at each sampling time. They had different genotypes of the virus from those in other countries and tools and equipment were consistently contaminated.
calendar icon 21 February 2014
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Group A rotaviruses (RVA) in pigs have been poorly investigated in Canada, according to Virginie Lachapelle of the University of Montreal and co-authors in the journal, Archives of Virology.

In a continued effort to fill this gap, they sampled 10 finisher swine farms in Quebec over a nine-month period.

The presence of RVA was detected in healthy pigs on all farms investigated during the entire sampling period.

The genotypes detected included G2, G5, G9 and G11; P[6], P[7], P[13], P[27] and P[34]; and I5 and I14. The predominant types were G2, P[13] and I5, which are different from previous global reports.

Various fomites were consistently contaminated by RVA, suggesting that a resident viral flora remains in the farm environment and may play a role in the infection of incoming pigs, according to Lachapelle and co-authors.

They add that their results also suggest temporal or geographical specificities regarding strain distribution on pig farms.

Reference

Lachapelle V., J.S. Sohal, M.C. Lambert, J. Brassard, P. Fravalo, A. Letellier and Y. L'homme. 2014. Genetic diversity of group A rotavirus in swine in Canada. Arch Virol. 2014 Jan 9. Epub ahead of print.

Further Reading

You can view the full report (fee payable) by clicking here.
Find about more about rotavirus infections in pigs by clicking here.

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