[Field infection with BVD virus in swine: epidemiology and diagnosis]

In a pig breeding herd in Lower Saxony infertility of breeding sows had been repeatedly observed. Growth retardation and post mortem findings in two piglets gave clinical indication to swine fever/hog cholera. A virus was isolated and typed by monoclonal antibodies as pestivirus not identical with hog cholera virus (HCV). In neutralization tests applying the field isolate, HCV and bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus the sera breeding sows and weaner pigs yielded high neutralizing antibody titres against the pestivirus field isolate but low titres against HCV. Specific antibodies against HCV were ruled out by a complex trapping blocking (CTB) ELISA. Intranasal inoculation of a weaner pig with spleen homogenate led to a short-termed viraemia without clinical signs but seroconversion with high antibody titres against the homologous pestivirus. In an in-contact pig no virus was detected and no antibody demonstrated within a period of 18 weeks.