Descriptive analyses of maternally-derived antibody levels against porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2) in 3- and 21-day-old piglets from farms of four European countries using different vaccination protocols in sows

Marina Sibila (1, 2) , Anna Maria Llorens Segales (1) , Eva Huerta (1) , Christelle Fablet (3, 4) , Michael Faderl (5) , Luca Ferrari (6) , Nicolas Rose (3, 4) , Andreas Palzer (5) , Paolo Martelli (6) , Maria C. Venegas-Vargas (7) , Daniel Fredrickson (7) , Lee Taylor (7) , Monica Balasch (7) , Meggan Bandrick (7) , Joaquim Segalés (1)

1 IRTA - Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries = Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology
2 CReSA - Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal [UAB, Spain]
3 Laboratoire de Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort [ANSES]
4 EPISABE - Epidémiologie, Santé et Bien-être
5 Veterinary Pig Practice Scheidegg
6 UNIPR - Università degli studi di Parma = University of Parma
7 Zoetis

Background: Up to now, information on the levels of maternally-derived antibodies (MDA) against PCV-2 in suckling piglets born to sows vaccinated with different strategies is scarce in the literature. In the present observational study, the PCV-2-specific MDA titres from piglets from 109 farms (thirty 3-day-old and thirty 21-day-old piglets per farm) across four different European countries (France n = 30, Germany n = 27, Italy n = 22 and Spain n = 30) using different sow vaccination strategies (during gestation, as a gilt, as a piglet or never) were assessed. Results: In all four countries, mean log PCV-2 MDA titres were higher in 3-day-old piglets than in the 3-week-old ones, being significant in most of all the comparisons performed. Within each country, the highest PCV-2-specific MDA titres were observed in the 3-day-old piglets born to sows vaccinated during gestation. Indeed, in the four countries, more than 60% of this subpopulation (3-day-old piglets from sows vaccinated during pregnancy) had the highest log PCV-2 titres detectable with the ELISA technique used in this study. The lowest MDA titres were more variable. Whereas in France and Germany the lowest titres corresponded to 21-day-old piglets born from sows vaccinated as a piglet, in Italy, they corresponded to 21-day-old piglets derived from sows vaccinated as a gilt and in Spain to 21-dayold piglets born from non-vaccinated sows. In this study, PCV-2-specific MDA titres at 3 and 21 days of age were not affected by sow parity. Conclusions: Data obtained could be considered as a European global overview of PCV-2-specific MDA titres present in the pre-vaccinated piglet populations in different European countries, with titres tending to be higher in younger piglets, but with values variable among countries and sow vaccination strategies.

Mots clés: Porcine circovirus 2; Maternally-derived antibodies; Sow vaccination

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Marina Sibila, Anna Maria Llorens Segales, Eva Huerta, Christelle Fablet, Michael Faderl, et al.. Descriptive analyses of maternally-derived antibody levels against porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2) in 3- and 21-day-old piglets from farms of four European countries using different vaccination protocols in sows. Porcine health management, 2022, 8 (1), pp.41. ⟨10.1186/s40813-022-00284-9⟩. ⟨anses-03980596⟩