Impact of PCV2 viraemia: Less virus, more profit

摘要

At the last edition of IPVS Congress in Vancouver, Canada, PCV2 virus received much attention. The bottom line of a number of presentations was that a large variety of different influences may exert influence on pigs infected with PCV2, leading to death or reduced growth. PCV2 virus and its interaction with the immune system has been studied in great detail by several research groups from all over the world. There is general agreement that this very small virus has an impact on the immune system of the pig which mainly involves monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. This in turn leads to an 'abnormal' type of communication with other parts of the immune system. The body normally produces very small messenger molecules that inform other parts of the body that a pathogen has invaded and needs to be removed from the body. In the case of PCV2 virus infection, however, this mechanism does not function in its usual way.