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Title: Vesicular disease in 9-week-old pigs experimentally infected with Senecavirus A

Author
item MONTIEL, NESTOR - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item BUCKLEY, ALEXANDRA - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item GUO, BAOQING - Iowa State University
item KULSHRESHTHA, VIKAS - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item VAN GEELEN, ALBERT - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item HOANG, HAI - Iowa State University
item RADEMACHER, CHRISTOPHER - Iowa State University
item YOON, KYOUNG-JIN - Iowa State University
item Lager, Kelly

Submitted to: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/7/2016
Publication Date: 7/1/2015
Citation: Montiel, N., Buckley, A., Guo, B., Kulshreshtha, V., Van Geelen, A., Hoang, H., Rademacher, C., Yoon, K., Lager, K.M. 2015. Vesicular disease in 9-week-old pigs experimentally infected with Senecavirus A. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 22(7):1246-1248.

Interpretive Summary: Foot-and-mouth disease virus is a highly contagious vesicular livestock disease that can affect swine causing blister-like sores or lesions on their feet and snout. This virus has been eradicated from the US for over 85 years due in part to aggressive USDA programs that maintain a constant vigilance for introduction of this virus as well as several other viruses known to cause vesicular disease in swine. Senecavirus A (SVA), formerly known as Seneca Valley Virus, was first identified as a contaminant in cell culture medium about 25 years ago. It has been infrequently associated with cases of idiopathic vesicular disease in pigs (a vesicular disease for which no causative agent was identified) in the US and Canada leading to speculation that SVA infection could be confused with foot-and-mouth disease virus which would complicate any control efforts. SVA infection has rarely been reported in other countries. Beginning in late 2014, vesicular disease was reported in many Brazilian swine herds for the first time and SVA was identified in serum, vesicular fluid, and swab samples from ruptured vesicles collected from affected weaned and adult pigs. In July 2015, an unprecedented emergence of vesicular disease began in multiple US swine herds and SVA was detected in samples from affected animals. Presumably, SVA is the cause of these current epidemics of vesicular disease in both Brazil and the US. However, until the time of this report, a causal relationship between the virus and its host has not been made. This report describes the results of a study which experimentally reproduced vesicular disease in nursery-age pigs using an SVA isolate obtained from a commercial swine operation in South Dakota that experienced idiopathic vesicular disease. Within several days of infection pigs developed vesicles on the coronary band of their hooves and by 7-8 days of infection some pigs developed lesions on their snout demonstrating that SVA could cause vesicular disease and this virus should be included in the diagnostic rule-out list for vesicular disease in swine.

Technical Abstract: Senecavirus A (SVA), formerly known as Seneca Valley Virus, is a non-enveloped, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus that belongs to the family Picornaviridae and has recently been proposed to be the prototype species of the Senecavirus genus. Although SVA was first identified as a contaminant in cell culture medium, it has been infrequently associated with cases of idiopathic vesicular disease in pigs in the US and Canada. This has led to speculation that SVA infection could be confused with a highly contagious vesicular livestock disease caused by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), another Picornavirus in the genus Apthovirus. SVA infection has rarely been reported in other countries. Beginning in late 2014, vesicular disease was reported in many Brazilian swine herds for the first time and SVA was identified in serum, vesicular fluid, and swab samples from ruptured vesicles collected from affected weaned and adult pigs. In July 2015, an unprecedented emergence of vesicular disease began in multiple US swine herds and SVA was detected in samples from affected animals. Presumably, SVA is the cause of these current epidemics of vesicular disease in both Brazil and the US. However, until the time of this report, a causal relationship between the virus and its host has not been made. This report describes the results of a study which experimentally reproduced vesicular disease in nursery-age pigs using an SVA isolate obtained from a commercial swine operation in South Dakota that experienced idiopathic vesicular disease with lameness.