A more virulent mutation of Porcine circovirus has emerged in China.
We now know that porcine circovirus first appeared in Britain in 1999. It was covered up, before being eventually identified as the PMWS and PDNS manifestations. The serious co-infections were treated with antibiotics.
Classical Swine Fever and, Foot and Mouth arrived shortly thereafter in the sick and weakened national pig herd.
The massive quantities of antibiotics used since to handle co-infections and the resulting antibiotic resistance spreading to humans has also been covered up.
Not a happy situation for Britain's government veterinarians. They have much to explain.
Chinese report in full here
A Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) Mutant with 234 Amino Acids in Capsid Protein Showed More Virulence In Vivo, Compared with Classical PCV2a/b Strain
...Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is considered to be the primary causative agent of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), which has become a serious economic problem for the swine industry worldwide. The major genotypes, PCV2a and PCV2b, are highly prevalent in the pig population and are present worldwide. However, another newly emerging PCV2b genotype mutant, which has a mutation in its ORF2-encoded capsid protein, has been sporadically present in China, as well as in other countries. It is therefore important to determine the relative virulence of the newly emerging PCV2b genotype mutant, compared with the existing PCV2a and PCV2b genotypes, and to investigate whether the newly emerging mutant virus induces more severe illness...
...Conclusions
This is believed to be the first report to confirm the enhanced virulence of the newly emerging PCV2 mutant in vivo.
