Difference between revisions of "Classical Swine Fever"

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==Pathogenesis==
 
==Pathogenesis==
Infection is by aerosol contact or direct spread. Entrance is through skin abrasions or mucous membranes. The incubation is usually 3-4 days (but may vary to 5-10 days). Virus infects epithelial cells of tonsillar crypts and subsequently spreads to regional lymph nodes via lymphatics. It enters the blood stream, replicates in the spleen, bone marrow and lymph nodes. Multiple haemorrhages are caused by degeneration of endothelial cells of blood vessles and thrombocytopaenia resulting in poor blood coagulation. In acute CSF, pigs die from the acute angiopathy, shock and febrile response. Pigs that survive develop a chronic form of the disease with enteric and joint lesions that are the result of tissue infarction. Piglets infected ''in utero'' are born persistently infected. They grow poorly and excrete virus over long periods.
 
  
 +
After transmission by direct spread or by aerosol, classical swine fever virus gains entry to the host via mucous membranes or skin abrasions. An incubation period of around 7 days ensues, but this may vary from 4-10 days. Initially, virus infects the epithelial cells of the tonsillar crypts before spreading via the lymphatics to regional lymph nodes. From here, classical swine fever virus enters the blood stream and then replicates in the spleen, bone marrow and lymph nodes before spreading to further tissues. Replication in the endothelial cells of blood vessels leads to apoptosis, causing superficial and internal haemorrhages. CSFV also causes a thrombocytopenia which contributes to haemorrhage by impairing primary haemostasis. In acute CSF this angiopathy causes pig death in association with shock and the febrile response. Surviving swine go on to develop a chronic form of the disease where joint and enteric lesions are seen resulting from tissue infarction.
  
A major area of recent study has been the nature of
+
The outcome of transplacental infection of foetuses depends largely on the point of gestation and may result in abortions, stillbirths, mummifications, malformations or the birth of weak or persistently viraemic piglets. Although persistently infected piglets may be clinically normal at birth, they grow poorly, excrete virus over long periods and invariably die from CSF.
the interaction between virus and host and attempts to
 
Research in Veterinary Science 75 (2003) 169–178
 
www.elsevier.com/locate/rvsc
 
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-1483-231012; fax: +44-1483-
 
232621.
 
E-mail address: david.paton@bbsrc.ac.uk (D.J. Paton).
 
0034-5288/$ - see front matter � 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
 
doi:10.1016/S0034-5288(03)00076-6
 
understand how the virus is able to avoid the innate
 
immune system, delay the onset of acquired immunity
 
and produce its pathogenic effects. Like other pestiviruses,
 
CSFV grows readily in vitro and is able to cause a
 
persistent, non-cytopathic infection of cell cultures. This
 
indicates that the virus can avoid the antiviral effects of
 
type I interferon and prevent programmed cell death
 
(apoptosis). Indeed, porcine cells infected with CSFV
 
are strongly protected against stimuli that normally
 
trigger apoptosis, such as treatment with double-stranded
 
RNA, and resist the antiviral effects of type I interferon
 
(Ruggli et al., 2002). The first protein encoded
 
by the genome, Npro, is an autoprotease that cleaves
 
itself from the nascent viral polyprotein and whose
 
function has been enigmatic. Recently, it has been
 
shown that CSFV, lacking Npro induces rather than
 
inhibits an interferon response in infected monocytes
 
(Ruggli et al., 2002). CSFV is also immunosuppressive
 
and neutralising antibodies may not appear until three
 
weeks after infection. Since the virus is so innocuous in
 
vitro, it has long been suspected that the serious lesions
 
found in vivo must have an immunopathological origin.
 
During infection, there are profound changes in the
 
bone marrow and in the circulating white cell population
 
and these may precede widespread infection of these
 
cell types (Knoetig et al., 1999; Summerfield et al., 1998,
 
2001a). This suggests an indirect cytopathic effect induced
 
in mainly uninfected cells, damaged by a soluble
 
viral factor or by some other disturbance of cellular
 
homeostasis. There is evidence for both of these mechanisms.
 
Firstly, there is a soluble viral protein Erns that
 
at high concentrations is able to induce apoptosis in
 
lymphocytes in vitro (Bruschke et al., 1997). However,
 
supernatant fluids collected from cell cultures infected
 
with CSFV do not induce apoptosis (Summerfield et al.,
 
2001b). Secondly, virus replication in monocytes and
 
macrophages induces the release of cytokines including
 
prostaglandin-E2 and interleukin-1, which have a
 
probable role in fever and haemorrhages (Knoetig et al.,
 
1999). Although the majority of pestiviruses are noncytopathic
 
in vitro, BVD viruses from cases of mucosal
 
disease and a small minority of CSF viruses can be cytopathic
 
in vitro, expression of NS3 being the hallmark
 
of such cytopathic viruses (Kummerer et al., 2000).
 
  
 
==Diagnosis==
 
==Diagnosis==

Revision as of 17:25, 6 August 2010



Description

Classical swine fever is a highly contagious, haemorrhagic disease of swine which is caused by a Togavirus. Presentation may be actue, sub-acute, chronic or persistent, and the disease is indistinguishable in the field from African Swine Fever. Acutely, classical swine fever is characterised by severe depression, high fever and superficial and internal haemorrhages, with many cases resulting in death. Depression, anorexia and pyrexia are seen in chronic classical swine fever. Transplacental infection is also possible and results in persistently infected piglets.

Aetiology

The causative agent of classical swine fever is a small, enveloped virus of around 40nm diameter. The genome is comprised of single stranded RNA, which is positive sense and contains about 12,300 bases. The sequence of the genome is known, and codes four structural and seven non-structural proteins. The classical swine fever virus is relatively stable in excretions and in fresh meat products including ham, salami and other similar sausages. It is, however, easily inactivated by detergents, common disinfectants and heat.

Classical swine fever virus is a Togavirus within the Pestivirus genus of the Flaviviridae. As such, it is closely related to the bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) virus of cattle, and the border disease virus of sheep.

Signalment

Domestic pigs and other swine of any age may become infected with classical swine fever.

Pathogenesis

After transmission by direct spread or by aerosol, classical swine fever virus gains entry to the host via mucous membranes or skin abrasions. An incubation period of around 7 days ensues, but this may vary from 4-10 days. Initially, virus infects the epithelial cells of the tonsillar crypts before spreading via the lymphatics to regional lymph nodes. From here, classical swine fever virus enters the blood stream and then replicates in the spleen, bone marrow and lymph nodes before spreading to further tissues. Replication in the endothelial cells of blood vessels leads to apoptosis, causing superficial and internal haemorrhages. CSFV also causes a thrombocytopenia which contributes to haemorrhage by impairing primary haemostasis. In acute CSF this angiopathy causes pig death in association with shock and the febrile response. Surviving swine go on to develop a chronic form of the disease where joint and enteric lesions are seen resulting from tissue infarction.

The outcome of transplacental infection of foetuses depends largely on the point of gestation and may result in abortions, stillbirths, mummifications, malformations or the birth of weak or persistently viraemic piglets. Although persistently infected piglets may be clinically normal at birth, they grow poorly, excrete virus over long periods and invariably die from CSF.

Diagnosis

Clinical Signs

Laboratory Tests

Pathology

Treatment

Control

  • NOTIFIABLE disease
  • Vaccination (live attenuated) in endemic countries:
    • Parts of EU are using vaccinated bait to control spread in wild boar population
    • Vaccination does not curtail spread: marker vaccine needed to distinguish virus exposure from vaccine-induced antibody

Prognosis