Call Prefix : PR-T

Call Suffix : 2004

Call Cutter : T - Vete 13

Location : SEARCA Library

Format : TD

Publisher : University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB),

Publication Date : July 2004

Publication Place : Philippines :

Summary : Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS) is a new, emerging, economically devastating, viral infectious disease of pigs. In the Philippines, many cases of the disease in the field have been observed but these field observations remained unconfirmed. This study aimed to investigate the suspected PMWS cases in six farrow-to-finish, small commercial to large commercial farms located in Central Luzon. A total of 20, five to 12 week old, clinically ill pigs were examined, necropsied and diagnosed. The morbidity and mortality rates during the disease outbreak were 20-25% and 10-15%, respectively. Affected pigs showed characteristics clinico-pathological findings compatible with PMWS such as unthriftiness, systemic lymphadenopathy, lymphoid depletion, and granulomatous infiltration in the lymphoid tissues. Other significant signs and lesions involving major organs, which may be due to concurrent secondary infections, were also noted. Porcine Circovirus-2 (PCV-2) was isolated from frozen lymphoid tissue samples in Porcine Kidney-15 (PK-15) cell culture and was confirmed by Direct Fluorescent Antibody Test (DFAT) using anti-PCV-2 fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) conjugated polyclonal antibody. PCV-2 antigen was also detected in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lymphoid tissue sections by DFAT. In this study, PMWS was diagnosed in 16 pigs out of 20 pigs studied. This suggests a high incidence of the disease in the major pig farms of Central Luzon. This further indicates that the combined use of the three laboratory methods employed in this study are highly reliable and can be useful in diagnosing PMWS infection and establishing its extent in the country.