Faecal excretion of rotavirus by naturally infected pregnant sows in organized pig farms- a potent source of infection to newborns

摘要

A longitudinal study was carried out to find out excretion pattern of rotaviruses by the pregnant sows before and after farrowing and their role in disseminating the infection to their newborns. For this purpose 6 pregnant sows (3 sows and 3 gilts) farrowing on the same day and tested for presence of RV antigen by sandwich ELISA and PAGE. In sows, average duration of excretion at pre- and post-farrowing was 5.66+or-0.33 and 5.33+or-0.33 days, respectively. While in gilts, average duration of excretion in pre- and post-farrowing was 7.33+or-0.67 days. From the litters farrowed by these sows, faecal samples were collected following the same schedule up to 2 months of age from the date of farrowing and piglets excreted RV from eighth day onwards and continued up to sixth week of their life. Our results can provide some baseline data to formulate managemental tactics to combat RV infection in piglets.