Two novel porcine teschovirus strains as the causative agents of encephalomyelitis in the Netherlands

Background: Porcine teschovirus (PTV) circulates among wild and domesticated pig populations without causing clinical disease, however neuroinvasive strains have caused high morbidity and mortality in the past. In recent years, several reports appeared with viral agents as a cause for neurologic signs in weanling and growing pigs among which PTV and new strains of PTV were described. Case presentation: On two unrelated pig farms in the Netherlands the weanling pig population showed a staggering gate, which developed progressively to paresis or paralysis of the hind legs with a morbidity up to 5%. After necropsy we diagnosed a non-suppurative encephalomyelitis on both farms, which was most consistent with a viral infection. PTV was detected within the central nervous system by qPCR. From both farms PTV full-length genomes were sequenced, which clustered closely with PTV-3 (98%) or PTV-11 (85%). Other common swine viruses were excluded by qPCR and sequencing of the virus. Conclusion: Our results show that new neuroinvasive PTV strains still emerge in pigs in the Netherlands. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of PTV and other viral agents causing encephalomyelitis within wild and domestic pig populations supported by the awareness of veterinarians.