The possible role of transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGE) and porcine respiratory corona virus (PRCV) in the mortality of Ugandan back-yard piglets

Sammanfattning: In Uganda, small scale pig production plays a major role for households to earn a living and to secure their access to meat. Piglet mortality due to diar-rhoea-related dieseases is high. In an attempt to understand the underlying causes for this high mortality this study aims to investigate the role of trans-missible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and is a part of a larger project con-ducted at Makerere university in Uganda. A complicating factor in this investigation is the porcine respiratory corona-virus (PRCV), a stabile mutant form of the TGE virus. The occurrence of this virus had shown to alter the impact of TGEV in e.g. Europe and North Amer-ica. The interaction between these two viruses is discussed. Even porcine ep-idemic diarrhoea (PED) is a coronavirus-induced disease of swine and reports on the presence of all three viruses in the world is reviewed. 48 serum samples from adult pigs from the district of Gulu in Uganda were tested. The test used in this study is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) which is able to identify both TGEV and PRCV and to differentiate between these viruses. Test results for all samples showed to be negative. The result is discussed by considering a possible impact of the extensive heat-inactivation on the samples as well as geography, climate and trade pattern of the district of Gulu in Uganda.