1989 Volume 42 Issue 12 Pages 867-870
Serological survey of porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis (PHE) virus infection in pigs was done by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test.
Specimens were collected from 4, 846 pigs raised in 21 prefectures of 9 districts in 1978-1988. The HI antibody was detected in 57.7%, 36.2%, 59.7% and 84.1% of pigs at 1, 2, 3 and 5 months of age, respectively; the 68.2% detection was noted in sows. Furthermore, it was revealed that the HI antibody was detected in 50.0-88.3% of pigs older than 3 months of age from 1978 to 1988, and the geometric mean HI antibody titers varied approximatelly parallel to the positive ratios of the antibody. There were no significant differences in the positive ratios of the HI antibody between districts.
From these results, the PHE virus was shows to be widely and highly distributed in Japan. The facts that pigs younger than 1 month of age are protected by maternal antibody and pigs who have lost the antibody become susceptible to PHE virus suggest that further studies on PHE in pigs are needed.
