The Torremorell lab is continuing to explore swine influenza epidemiology in this recent publication from Dr. Fabian Chamba Pardo in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. After showing that multiple genome constellations of similar and distinct influenza viruses co-circulate in pigs, the group is now presenting new data about influenza herd-level prevalence in the Midwest, and how it is influenced by seasons. Click on the banner below to read the entire research article.
60 sow farms from a single Midwestern production system were enrolled in this study. Between one and seven oral fluid samples were collected at each farm weekly and meteorological data (air temperature and relative humidity) was compiled from stations located from the farms.
28% of submissions had at least one influenza positive result. All farms tested positive at least once during study period. Herd-level prevalence ranged from 7% to 57% as show in the figure above. Prevalence was low in summer, rose during fall, and peaked twice in both early winter (December) and late spring (May). August was the month with the lowest prevalence. Influenza herd-level prevalence was higher when both mean outdoor air temperature and air humidity were lower.
The most common clades identified were H1 delta 1, H1 gamma 1, and clusters H3 IV A and H3 IV B. Furthermore, 21% of the farms had 3 different influenza genetic clades circulating during the study period and 18% had 2.
Abstract
Influenza is a costly disease for pig producers and understanding its epidemiology is critical to control it. In this study, we aimed to estimate the herd-level prevalence and seasonality of influenza in breed-to-wean pig farms, evaluate the correlation between influenza herd-level prevalence and meteorological conditions, and characterize influenza genetic diversity over time. A cohort of 34 breed-to-wean farms with monthly influenza status obtained over a 5-year period in piglets prior to wean was selected. A farm was considered positive in a given month if at least one oral fluid tested influenza positive by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Influenza seasonality was assessed combining autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models with trigonometric functions as covariates. Meteorological conditions were gathered from local land-based weather stations, monthly aggregated and correlated with influenza herd-level prevalence. Influenza herd-level prevalence had a median of 28% with a range from 7 to 57% and followed a cyclical pattern with levels increasing during fall, peaking in both early winter (December) and late spring (May), and decreasing in summer. Influenza herd-level prevalence was correlated with mean outdoor air absolute humidity (AH) and temperature. Influenza genetic diversity was substantial over time with influenza isolates belonging to 10 distinct clades from which H1 delta 1 and H1 gamma 1 were the most common. Twenty-one percent of farms had three different clades co-circulating over time, 18% of farms had two clades, and 41% of farms had one clade. In summary, our study showed that influenza had a cyclical pattern explained in part by air AH and temperature changes over time, and highlighted the importance of active surveillance to identify high-risk periods when strategic control measures for influenza could be implemented.