Infection and Coinfection of Porcine-Selected Viruses (PPV1 to PPV8, PCV2 to PCV4, and PRRSV) in Gilts and Their Associations with Reproductive Performance.

Simple Summary: Different viral pathogens, some considered primary agents, affect the reproductive performance of gilts and sows, such as circoviruses 2 and 3, parvovirus 1, and the PRRS virus. Recently, new viruses have been discovered, such as novel parvoviruses (named 2 to 8), whose effects on reproductive performance are not evident. In this study, we evaluate the presence of these new parvoviruses together with the primary viruses in a particular group: the gilts. This group is essential since they are the ones that will replace the sows that leave the reproductive cycle in the herd. We found the presence of these new viruses (except parvovirus 8) simultaneously in the same gilt with primary viruses (in addition to sextuple coinfections). Furthermore, we found that some primary viruses may be associated with the presence of some parvoviruses, such as 6 and 5. Likewise, parvoviruses 4 and 6 could affect important reproductive variables, such as the farrowing rate. This observational field study attempts to draw attention to and be a starting point in the search for answers about the effect of these selected viruses in the group of gilts and their impact on reproductive performance. Seven novel porcine parvoviruses (nPPVs) (PPV2 through PPV8) have been described, although their pathogenicity and possible effects on porcine reproductive failure (PRF) are undefined. In this study, these nPPVs were assessed in gilts from Colombia; their coinfections with PPV1, PCV2, PCV3, PCV4, and PRRSV and an association between the nPPVs and the reproductive performance parameters (RPPs) in sows were determined. For this, 234 serum samples were collected from healthy gilts from 40 herds in five Colombian regions, and the viruses were detected via real-time PCR. The results confirmed the circulation of PPV2 through PPV7 in Colombia, with PPV3 (40%), PPV5 (20%), and PPV6 (17%) being the most frequent. Additionally, no PCV4 or PPV8 was detected. PPV2 to PPV7 were detected in concurrence with each other and with the primary PRF viruses, and these coinfections varied from double to sextuple coinfections. Additionally, the association between nPPVs and PRF primary viruses was statistically significant for the presence of PPV6 in PCV3-positive (p < 0.01) and PPV5 in PPRSV-positive (p < 0.05) gilts; conversely, there was a significant presence of PPV3 in both PCV2-negative (p < 0.01) and PRRSV-negative (p < 0.05) gilts. Regarding the RPPs, the crude association between virus detection (positive or negative) and a high or low RPP was only statistically significant for PCV3 and the farrowing rate (FR), indicating that the crude odds of a low FR were 94% lower in herds with PCV3-positive gilts. This finding means that the detection of PCV3 in gilts (PCV3-positive by PCR) is associated with a higher FR in the farm or that these farms (with positive gilts) have lower odds (OR 0.06, p-value 0.0043) of a low FR. Additionally, a low FR tended to be associated with the detection of PPV4 and PPV5 (p-value < 0.20). This study is important for establishing the possible participation of nPPVs in PRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]