title: High frequency of Aichivirus C (porcine kobuvirus) infection in piglets from different geographic regions of Brazil.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of Aichivirus C infection in the three major industrial pig-producing regions of Brazil. This retrospective study evaluated 63 faecal samples that were collected between 2004 and 2011 from suckling piglets (1 to 3 weeks old) belonging to 46 pig herds located in the South, Southeast and Central-west regions of Brazil. The presence of Aichivirus C in the samples was evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay. A 216-bp fragment of the aichivirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene was amplified from 48 out of 63 (76.2 %) faecal samples. Aichivirus C was identified in all the evaluated regions, and variations in the frequency of virus detection among the different Brazilian regions were observed. Aichivirus C was detected at significantly higher rates in 2-week-old (18/20; 90.0 %) and 3-week-old (19/22; 86.4 %) piglets than in 1-week-old piglets (11/21; 52.4 %) (P < 0.05). The nucleotide sequences of three amplicons clustered together with other sequences previously isolated in Brazil, revealing that there were no phylogenetic differences in the strains of Aichivirus C by region or age. This study demonstrated that Aichivirus C has been present in Brazilian pig herds for years and has spread to the major pig-producing regions of the country.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Animal Virology, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Rodovia Celso Garcia Cid - Campus Universitário, PO Box 10011, 86057-970, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Arruda Leme
authors.forename: Alice Fernandes
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Alfieri
authors.forename: Amauri Alcindo
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Alfieri
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D052699:Kobuvirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010850:Picornaviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase