Serological and pathological studies on Porcine Circovirus 2 infection in Punjab

Porcine Circovirus (PCV2) is widespread among the swine population in many parts of the world and is associated with multiple diseases of swine. The present study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of PCV2 in Punjab using ELISA and to diagnose the PCV2 infection from abortion cases and from reproductive tract of pig using gross, histopathological and immunohistochemical techniques. Sero-prevalence studies showed the rate of 24.4% positive cases using the indirect ELISA. Grossly, mixture of late-term aborted, mummified, stillborn foetuses and weak born piglets were seen in abortion cases. Histopathologically, most frequent lesions were observed in heart, lungs and lymphoid organs of aborted foetuses and in ovaries and uterus of female reproductive tract. Im- munohistochemistry and revealed positive immunostaining for PCV2 in section(s) of heart, kidney, lungs, liver and spleen of aborted foetus, trophoblast layer of placenta, muscular part, epithelium of uterus and cortex part of ovary of sows. Highest immunoreactivity for PCV2 antigen was reported in the heart of foetus followed by lungs. Thus, immunohistochemical examination of paraffin wax-embedded tissues is a useful diagnostic tool to detect and to understand pathogenesis of PCV2 and ELISA can be used as a reliable method for conducting seroprevalence study.