title: Evaluation of the transmission of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) genogroups a and b with semen from infected specific-pathogen-free boars.
abstract: The porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) is associated with several diseases including reproductive failure. This syndrome has been experimentally reproduced twice with two PCV-2 isolates representative of each major PCV-2 genogroup, i.e. PCV-2a and PCV-2b (Cariolet et al., 2002; Rose et al., 2007). In these two previous studies, the sows were infected by intra-uterine inoculation at insemination with 10(4.3) and 10(3.18) TCID(50) of PCV-2a and PCV-2b, respectively, corresponding to 1.2 × 10(11) and 3 × 10(10) genome copies, respectively. The aim of this present study was to quantify viral shedding in semen from specific-pathogen-free (SPF) boars infected with isolates from the two major PCV-2 genogroups a and b. We studied the transmission of the PCV-2 virus through contaminated semen to SPF sows and their offspring. The four inoculated boars developed sub-clinical PCV-2 infections and PCV-2 genomes were occasionally detected in semen after nasal infection of boars, with up to 1.2 × 10(6)copies/mL in the sperm-rich fraction. When PCV-2-contaminated semen was inoculated in SPF sows at artificial insemination, the sows and their offspring did not show any signs of PCV-2 infection or PCV-2 antibodies or genomes. In the present study, sows were inoculated with a maximal dose of 1.7 × 10(7) viral genome copies, which is lower than the genomic loads (i.e. 1.2 × 10(11) and 3 × 10(10) genome copies) that have been shown to induce reproductive troubles in intra-uterine inoculated sows. Our results together with the previous experiment findings suggest that PCV-2-induced reproductive disorders depend on the infectious dose inoculated to sows by the intra-uterine route.
authors.affiliation: ANSES, Ploufragan-Plouzané Laboratory, BP 53, 22440 Ploufragan, France. Electronic address: Beatrice.GRASLAND@anses.fr.
authors.forename: Béatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grasland
authors.affiliation: ANSES, Sophia-Antipolis Laboratory, 105 route des Chappes, BP 111, 06902 Sophia-Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.affiliation: ANSES, Ploufragan-Plouzané Laboratory, BP 53, 22440 Ploufragan, France.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kéranflec'h
authors.affiliation: ANSES, Ploufragan-Plouzané Laboratory, BP 53, 22440 Ploufragan, France.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bigault
authors.affiliation: ANSES, Ploufragan-Plouzané Laboratory, BP 53, 22440 Ploufragan, France.
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oger
authors.affiliation: ANSES, Ploufragan-Plouzané Laboratory, BP 53, 22440 Ploufragan, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: ANSES, Ploufragan-Plouzané Laboratory, BP 53, 22440 Ploufragan, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Madec
authors.affiliation: ANSES, Ploufragan-Plouzané Laboratory, BP 53, 22440 Ploufragan, France.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jestin
authors.affiliation: ANSES, Ploufragan-Plouzané Laboratory, BP 53, 22440 Ploufragan, France.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cariolet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018173:Circoviridae Infections / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D017925:Circovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D012661:Semen / Q000821:virology*; D015229:Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary; D017201:Virus Shedding