Reservoirs of Porcine Circoviruses: A Mini Review

Zhai, Shao-Lun; Lu, Shou-Sheng; Wei, Wen-Kang; Lv, Dian-Hong; Wen, Xiao-Hui; Zhai, Qi; Chen, Qin-Ling; Sun, Yan-Wei; Xi, Yun

Bivalve shellfishes (such as oysters, clams, and mussels) intake nutrition by filtering up to 4.8 L/h of surrounding water and simultaneously concentrate microorganisms that are present (52) (53) (54) . Animal pathogens can contaminate the beds via runoff from fields fertilized using animal waste. One previous study reported high detection rate for PCV2 and E. coli (41%, 12/29 and 28%, 8/29) in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) from Danish commercial harvesting areas, while common food-borne pathogens (such as hepatitis E virus, rotavirus, Salmonella) were absent. The geographic distribution of the PCV2-positive shellfish samples revealed that positive samples were localized to Limfjord in the northern part of Jutland and a bay area in the south-western part of Jutland, Denmark (55) . This suggested that these bay areas were contaminated by porcine waste, and PCV2 may be a specific indicator of porcine waste in shellfish.