Shaking piglets and atypical porcine pestivirus.(APPV)

A new study has shown that shaking in new born piglets is not a sign of cold but of a previously unidentified virus. Symptoms of tremors and shaking in newborn piglets are not a sign that the animals are cold, but rather that they are suffering from a specific viral infection. Researchers at Vetmeduni Vienna have now been able to prove this correlation for the first time using a newly developed test have now been able to prove this correlation for the first time using a newly developed test. The scientists detected a previously unknown virus, termed atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV), in “shaking piglets”, making it possible to clearly diagnose the potentially fatal disease. This virus remains in the animals for a long time following an infection and may also be transmitted sexually,these findings were published in the journal Veterinary Research. The researchers used genome sequencing data to identify the virus,the pathogen, which belongs to the atypical porcine pestiviruses (APPV), was detected in diseased animals at Austrian farms using a specially developed test. Congenital tremors may be life-threatening and presents a challenge for the piglets ,the tremor can sometimes be so severe that the piglet is unable to properly suckle milk. Suckling is important for piglets in the first 24 hours after birth as only the sow's milk contains everything the piglet needs to survive and without the first drink of milk, piglets have a very low chance of survival. Piglets that survive the first phase, usually symptoms subside after three or four weeks but in rare cases, a slight tremor remains in the ears. A mortality rate of up to 30 percent is possible among affected piglets,thus identifying the causative agent is a diagnostic breakthrough. Detection is possible using the usual molecular methods such as polymerase chain reaction.The detection procedure not only confirmed the presence of the virus in high numbers in the diseased piglets but also in the saliva and semen of mature pigs. The presence of the virus in the semen gives a clue as to mode of transmission ,but the virus is likely transmitted to the piglet at a stage of gestation when the central nervous system is developing, as indicated by changes in nerve fibres.