No abstract

Pigeon circoviruses (PiCV) had been identified worldwide and are responsible for immune suppression and a variety of diseases collectively referred to as young pigeon disease syndrome. Samples from racing pigeons were collected throughout Hungary and analyzed for the presence of PiCV by polymerase chain reaction. The capsid protein coding gene was amplified from ten PiCVs of different origins, and compared with known PiCV sequences. The results indicated that PiCV was highly variable, the viruses formed five distinct genetic groups. Differences of the 3' end of the gene suggested the possibility of genetic recombination among these groups.

No abstract

Porcine hokovirus (PHoV), a newly discovered member of the family Parvoviridae and the proposed genus Hokovirus, is considered phylogenetically distinct from other parvoviruses. Here, we report a comprehensive spatio-temporal study of PHoV infection in Romanian wild boars. The prevalence of PHoV differed significantly in samples from 2006/2007 (22.76%) and 2010/2011 (50.54%), and also increased with age. Sequence analysis of PHoVs from 2006/2007 showed a close relationship to PHoVs from pigs from England and wild boars from Germany, while the PHoVs from 2010/2011 were mostly similar to isolates from Hong Kong. The most variable regions were detected in the NS1 gene and proved to be suitable for analysis of the genetic diversity of the virus. It was observed that PHoVs from older wild boar samples differed from those collected recently. These results suggested that porcine hokovirus could be a newly emerging virus of both domestic and wild pigs with yet unknown implications.

Novel porcine parvoviruses showing the genetic characteristics of bocaviruses have recently been identified. The first such porcine bocavirus (PoBoV1), described as boca-like virus (PBo-likeV), was discovered in PMWS affected pigs in Sweden. Later, several other bocaviruses with divergent genomes were reported under various names in domestic pigs. This is the first report of the presence of bocaviruses in European wild boars. 842 wild boar samples originating from the Western region of Romania (Transylvania) were collected during the 2006/2007 and the 2010/2011 hunting seasons and tested for the presence of PoBoV1 by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. The results showed 12.94% (109/842) overall positivity, with an increasing prevalence from the 2006/2007 (9.14%, 43/470) to the 2010/2011 (17.74%, 66/372) season (P < 0.01). Differences between the prevalence of the virus in 6-12-month-old-animal (77.06%, 84/109) and 12-36-month-old-animal (22.94%, 25/109) (P < 0.01) indicated that the infection occurred mainly in younger pigs. Comparative sequence analysis of partial VP1/2 genes from wild boars and those available in the GenBank showed only minor differences, indicating that PoBoV1 circulating within the wild boar populations and domestic pigs from different geographic regions were highly similar.