Detection of Porcine Circovirus 1/2/3 and Genetic Analysis of Porcine Circovirus 2 in Wild Boar from Jiangxi Province of China

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Since PCV2 is currently the primary viral agent in intensive pigs, the cost of immune suppression and preventative measures has resulted in severe economic losses. It has been claimed that PCVs infect wild pigs in a number of nations, including South Korea, Germany, and Italy. Jiangxi province in China is a heavily populated area with an extremely intensive pig production industry, but data on the transmission of PCVs in wild boar are poor. In order to ascertain the incidence of PCV1/2/3 and the genetic characteristics of PCV2 circulating in wild boar in Jiangxi province, an epidemiological investigation was conducted. We discovered a medium prevalence of PCVs, notably PCV2, which indicated that wild boar in Jiangxi province were exposed to PCVs. Our findings highlight the need for the pig sector to actively prevent the contact between livestock and wild boar, which have a high risk of PCVs infection. ABSTRACT: A number of disorders that harm pig production are linked to porcine circoviruses, including PCV2. PCV2 infection is a substantial contributor to porcine-circovirus-associated illnesses (PCAS) and the post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), which have a significant negative economic impact on pig production. Additionally, PCV infection has been labeled as a global concern to cattle and wildlife. This study’s objectives were to examine the prevalence of PCV1/2/3 in Jiangxi Province, China, and to clarify the epidemiological significance of wild boar in PCV epidemiology. The 2020 hunting seasons resulted in the collection of 138 wild boar samples for PCV1/2/3 detection, which was followed by the genetic clarification of PCV2 strains. According to our data, 21.7% (30/138) of the population had PCV1 positivity, 22.5% (31/138) had PCV2 positivity, and 5.8% (8/138) had PCV3 positivity. Additionally, 10 out of 138 wild boar samples had PCV1 and PCV2 co-infections, while 5 out of 138 wild boar samples had PCV2 and PC3 co-infections. Nineteen full-length PCV2 genomes measuring 1767 nt were recovered from various animal tissues using conventional PCR. Eighteen out of nineteen PCV2 strains were identified as PCV2b by phylogenetic tree analysis, which was completed by the reference strain HLJ2015 obtained from domestic pigs in 2015. Additionally, one genotype of PCV2d JX11-2020 (MW889021) shared a sub-branch with the referenced strain TJ (AY181946), which was isolated in domestic pigs in 2002. This finding raises the possibility that domestic pigs could contract PCV2 strains from wild boar, posing a serious threat to the Jiangxi province of China’s pig production industry.