Abstract
Asymptomatic influenza virus infections in pigs are frequent and the lack of measures for controlling viral spread facilitates the circulation of different virus strains between pigs. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the circulation of influenza A virus strains among asymptomatic piglets in an abattoir in Brazil and discuss the potential public health impacts. Tracheal samples (n = 330) were collected from asymptomatic animals by a veterinarian that also performed visual lung tissue examinations. No slaughtered animals presented with any noticeable macroscopic signs of influenza infection following examination of lung tissues. Samples were then analysed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction that resulted in the identification of 30 (9%) influenza A positive samples. The presence of asymptomatic pig infections suggested that these animals could facilitate virus dissemination and act as a source of infection for the herd, thereby enabling the emergence of influenza outbreaks associated with significant economic losses. Furthermore, the continuous exposure of the farm and abattoir workers to the virus increases the risk for interspecies transmission. Monitoring measures of swine influenza virus infections and vaccination and monitoring of employees for influenza infection should also be considered. In addition regulatory agencies should consider the public health ramifications regarding the potential zoonotic viral transmission between humans and pigs.
Highlights
Asymptomatic influenza virus infections in pigs are frequent and the lack of measures for controlling viral spread facilitates the circulation of different virus strains between pigs
The goal of this work was to demonstrate the circulation of influenza A viruses among asymptomatic piglets in an abattoir in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil, and discuss its potential impact on public health
The samples were collected after the animals were slaughtered and samples were preserved in viral transport medium (VTM) containing RNAlater® (Life technologies, Austin, TX, United States of America (USA)) and transported in a cooler to the laboratory for influenza A virus detection
Summary
Asymptomatic influenza virus infections in pigs are frequent and the lack of measures for controlling viral spread facilitates the circulation of different virus strains between pigs. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the circulation of influenza A virus strains among asymptomatic piglets in an abattoir in Brazil and discuss the potential public health impacts. Viral particles are composed by segmented negative-sense RNA enclosed by a helical capsid and lipoprotein envelope These viruses infect a variety of species including humans, swine, equine species, aquatic mammals and birds (Wright et al 2007). Influenza A virus transmission between humans and swine often results in the emergence of new strains with the potential of spreading among both populations (Myers et al 2007, Yassine et al 2009, Xu et al 2011, Yu et al 2011). The most effective protective measure would be to vaccinate both pigs and workers (CDC 2010)
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