Porcine Parvovirus infection: review and diagnosis in a sow herd with reproductive failure

Abstract

In a commercial swine herd a rise was noted during the summer of 1981 in the number of repeat breeders, mostly four to eight weeks after serving. During the autumn there was a decrease in the litter size at birth and an increase in the number of stillborn and mummified piglets. Several gilts and sows showed a seroconversion against Porcine Parvovirus (PPV), determined by the Haemagglutination Inhibition test (HI-test). Characteristic pathological findings were seen in some maturely stillborn and neonatally decreased piglets (up to an age of 28 days); hepatic congestion and necrosis, accummulation of fluid in body cavities, myocarditis, and encephalitis were the most prominent features. Serological tests for antibodies in blood samples of one sow and body fluids of two stillborn piglets were suggestive of Porcine Parvovirus as the aetiological agent.