Swine influenza A viruses (swIAVs) can play a crucial role in the generation of new human pandemic viruses. In this study, in-depth passive surveillance comprising nearly 2,500 European swine holdings and more than 18,000 individual samples identified a year-round presence of up to four major swIAV lineages on more than 50% of farms surveilled. Phylogenetic analyses show that intensive reassortment with human pandemic A(H1N1)/2009 (H1pdm) virus produced an expanding and novel repertoire of at least 31 distinct swIAV genotypes and 12 distinct hemagglutinin/neuraminidase combinations with largely unknown consequences for virulence and host tropism. Several viral isolates were resistant to the human antiviral MxA protein, a prerequisite for zoonotic transmission and stable introduction into human populations. A pronounced antigenic variation was noted in swIAV, and several H1pdm lineages antigenically distinct from current seasonal human H1pdm co-circulate in swine. Thus, European swine populations represent reservoirs for emerging IAV strains with zoonotic and, possibly, pre-pandemic potential. ll Resource

Recently, a novel atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV) with significant distribution was described in the USA. Subsequent screening of the German pig sector showed a high prevalence of APPV with high variability among strains. First indication of a cell culture isolate is provided which will allow further investigations like pathogenesis studies.

Streptococcus suis causes numerous diseases in pigs, most importantly, meningitis, arthritis, septicemia, and bronchopneumonia. One of the major problems in modern swine production is the lack of a vaccine protecting against more than one S. suis serotype. The objective of this study was to determine the protective efficacy of a serotype 2 murein-associated protein (MAP) fraction subunit vaccine in comparison to that of a bacterin against experimental challenge with serotype 2 (containing muramidase-released protein [MRP], extracellular factor, and suilysin [SLY]) and serotype 9 (containing MRP variant MRP* and SLY) strains. MAP was shown to include different surface-associated proteins, such as the MRP and surface antigen one (SAO) expressed by both pathotypes used for challenge. The results of this study demonstrated that the serotype 2 bacterin induced protective immunity against homologous challenge. In contrast, the protective efficacy of the MAP subunit vaccine was low, though MAP immunization resulted in high serum immunoglobulin G2 titers against MRP and SAO. Importantly, immunization with bacterin but not with MAP induced opsonizing antibody titers against the serotype 2 strain, and these antibody titers were found to correlate with protection. However, after absorption with a nonencapsulated isogenic mutant, the sera from bacterin-immunized piglets failed to facilitate neutrophil killing, indicating that antibodies directed against capsule may not have been essential for opsonophagocytosis. Furthermore, induction of opsonizing antibodies against serotype 9 was not detectable in the group receiving bacterin or in the group receiving the MAP vaccine. In agreement, protection against the heterologous serotype 9 strain was low in both groups. Thus, identification of an antigen protecting against these two important S. suis pathotypes remains an important goal of future studies.Streptococcus suis ranks among the five most important health challenges of pigs worldwide (11,12). It is associated with numerous diseases, such as meningitis, arthritis, serositis, and bronchopneumonia. S. suis isolates from diseased animals express a polysaccharide capsule which confers resistance to phagocytosis, as demonstrated for serotype 2 strains (21). Strains of various serotypes have been isolated from affected tissues. In Europe, serotype 2 and 9 strains are the most prevalent types isolated from infections. The 136-kDa muramidasereleased protein (MRP) and the 110-kDa extracellular factor (EF) are virulence-associated factors expressed only by virulent serotype 1 and 2 strains (22, 23). The majority of invasive serotype 9 isolates express a larger variant of MRP, termed MRP*, which shares high homology with the 136-kDa MRP protein of serotype 2 strains (20, 23).

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Influenza is one of the most common causes of virus diseases worldwide. Virus detection requires determination of Influenza RNA in the upper respiratory tract. Efficient screening is not possible in this way. Analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath holds promise for non-invasive and fast monitoring of disease progression. Breath VOC profiles of 14 (3 controls and 11 infected animals) swine were repeatedly analyzed during a complete infection cycle of Influenza A under high safety conditions. Breath VOCs were pre-concentrated by means of needle trap micro-extraction and analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry before infection, during virus presence in the nasal cavity, and after recovery. Six VOCs could be related to disease progression: acetaldehyde, propanal, n-propyl acetate, methyl methacrylate, styrene and 1,1-dipropoxypropane. As early as on day four after inoculation, when animals were tested positive for Influenza A, differentiation between control and infected animals was possible. VOC based information on virus infection could enable early detection of Influenza A. As VOC analysis is completely non-invasive it has potential for large scale screening purposes. In a perspective, breath analysis may offer a novel tool for Influenza monitoring in human medicine, animal health control or border protection.