Case Report of Transmissible Gastroenteritis Coronavirus Infection Associated with Small Intestine and Brain Lesions in Piglets.

Papatsiros, Vasileios G; Stylianaki, Ioanna; Papakonstantinou, Georgios; Papaioannou, Nikolaos; Christodoulopoulos, Georgios

This case study report describes a transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV) infection presented in a commercial pig herd. The clinical signs of infection appeared in newborn piglets, including medium morbidity and low mortality rates. Rectal swabs were collected from five different affected litters for laboratory examinations. Samples from two dead piglets and two euthanized affected piglets were collected for gross and histopathological examinations. All fecal samples were tested TGEV positive by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Necropsy revealed nonspecific gross lesions. The histopathological examinations revealed villi fused with denuded tips and severe villus atrophy, leading to extensive epithelial flattening in middle and lower small intestine. The architecture pattern of villi presented columnar and cuboidal poorly differentiated enterocytes with mild subepithelial edema. In some enterocytes, pycnotic nuclei were detected. Microscopic examination of brain tissue revealed diffuse gliosis in the area of pia matter with mild congestion of the meningeal and parenchymal vessels and neuronal degeneration. In conclusion, this case study reported an epidemic TGEV infection in piglets, characterized by low mortality and medium morbidity rates accompanied by typical histopathological lesions in small intestine, as well as by coexisting brain lesions, that are described for the first time.