Pseudorabies (also known as Aujeszky’s disease) is aviral disease caused by pseudorabies virus (PRV).First isolated in 1902, classical PRV has circulated globallysince the 1980s, especially in locations with largepig populations. PRV is extremely infectious andinfected pigs shed large quantities of virus in bodilysecretions and excretions. PRV is mainly spread viadirect contact, but may also transmit by air, waterand contaminated fomites. Outbreaks of PRV in pigsare difficult to control, causing catastrophic economiclosses in the swine industry. Immunization of pigswith the Bartha-K61 vaccine, a live-attenuated PRVstrain [1], effectively controls virus spread but doesnot prevent infection [2]. Targeted vaccination campaignshave eliminated classical PRV from domesticpigs (but not wild feral swine) in most of Europe,USA and New Zealand. In 2011, variant PRV strainsemerged from Bartha-K61-vaccinated pig farms inChina [3]. The Bartha-K61 vaccine did not effectivelyprotect against variant PRV in pigs [4] (although thisis disputed [5]), but since then, these novel viruseshave continued to circulate in Northern, Eastern andSouthern China.
展开▼
