Swine vesicular disease virus. Pathology of the disease and molecular characteristics of the virion

Abstract

Swine vesicular disease is a highly contagious disease of pigs that is caused by an enterovirus of the family Picornaviridae. The virus is a relatively recent derivative of the human coxsackievirus B5, with which it has high molecular and antigenic homology. The disease is not severe, and affected animals usually show moderate general weakening and slight weight loss that is recovered in few days, as well as vesicular lesions in the mucosa of the mouth and nose and in the interdigital spaces of the feet. However, the similarity of these lesions to those caused by foot-and-mouth disease virus has led to the inclusion of this virus in list A of the Office International des Epizooties. The disease has been eradicated in the European Union except in Italy, where it is considered endemic in the south. Nevertheless, as occasional outbreaks still appear and must be eliminated rapidly, European countries are on the alert and farms are monitored routinely for the presence of the virus. This circumstance has led to a considerable effort to study the pathology of the disease and the molecular biology and antigenicity of the virus, and to the development of optimized methods for the diagnosis of the infection.

Clinical Manifestations of Senecavirus A Infection in Neonatal Pigs, Brazil, 2015

“…The patterns of the cutaneous lesions identified in this study might be similar to those of other vesicular infections of picornavirus (FMDV and SVDV), in which ballooning degeneration of epithelial cells and the formation of microvesicles are hallmarks ( 14 , 15 ). In addition, FMDV and SVDV affect different organs of susceptible animals—the heart, lungs, lymph nodes, bone marrow, and central nervous system ( 14 , 15 )—suggesting a wide organ tropism of these viruses.…”

Characterization of a Putative Ancestor of Coxsackievirus B5

“…The adaptation of CVB5 from human to pig has been estimated to have occurred between 1945 and 1965 (108). This highly contagious porcine CVB5 variant causes symptoms similar to those of foot-and-mouth disease virus and is therefore economically important (27,54,67).…”

Genetic Determinants of Virulence in the Group B Coxsackieviruses

“…First observed in Italy in 1966, swine vesicular disease (SVD) is a contagious, although not clinically serious, disease of pigs, which is commercially important because disease lesions are indistinguishable from those due to the serious picornavirus pathogen, foot-and-mouth disease virus [43]. It is extremely probable that the causative agent, SVD virus (SVDV), derived from a case of CVB5 infecting, and adapting to, swine.…”