Prevalence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and porcine circovirus type 2 in piglets after weaning on a commercial pig farm in Japan

To investigate the transition in concentration of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and antibody for these viruses in serum, serum samples were collected from 29 pigs on weaning day and at 7, 14, 21, 28, 53, 84, and 120 days after weaning. The concentration of circulated PRRSV and PCV2 in serum was measured by real-time RT-PCR and real-time PCR, respectively. The specific antibody for PRRSV and PCV2 was measured using ELISA. PRRSV was not detected on 0 days post-weaning (dpw). The specific antibody for PRRSV began to increase as the concentration of PRRSV in serum increased, and the level of PRRSV then tended to decrease. PCV2 was detected in 12 of 28 pigs on 0 dpw. The concentration of PCV2 and the specific antibody for PCV2 showed a similar tendency to those of PRRSV. The correlation analysis suggests that a decline in the daily weight gain coincided with an increase in the PRRSV concentration. Pigs with a higher antibody titer against PRRSV or PCV2 on 0 dpw showed the lower level of PRRSV or PCV2, respectively.