Frequent Occurrence of Simultaneous Infection with Multiple Rotaviruses in Swiss Pigs

Abstract

Rotavirus (RV) infections are the most important viral cause of diarrhea in piglets in Switzerland and are thought to cause substantial economic losses to the pig industry. However, no data are available on the occurrence and dynamics of the main porcine RV species, namely RVA, RVB, and RVC, and the diversity of the circulating strains. We therefore tested fecal samples from a cross-sectional (n = 95) and a longitudinal (n = 48) study for RVA, RVB, and RVC by real-time RT-PCR and compared the results of the cross-sectional study to postmortem findings. In addition, eight samples were fully genotyped by using next-generation sequencing. In the cross-sectional study, triple RV infections significantly correlated with diarrhea and wasting and were most frequent in the weaned age group. In the longitudinal study, the shedding of RV peaked one week after weaning and decreased thereafter. Here, mainly double infections were seen, and only a few animals showed diarrhea. The full-genome sequencing revealed a genotype pattern similar to other European countries and, importantly, co-infection by up to four RVA strains. Our results imply that the weaning of piglets may trigger not only RV shedding but facilitate co-infection of multiple RV species and strains in the same host.