Reproductive failure in wild boars associated to porcine parvovirus infection and in vivo and in vitro characterization of the causal isolate

Investigations were made to identify the causal agent of an acute outbreak of abortions in a domesticated herd of wild boar. Only porcine parvovirus (PPV) was isolated from samples of organs from the still-born sucklings and mummified aborted fetuses. The isolated virus hemagglutinated erythrocytes of guinea pig, murine, rat, and chicken. Identity of the virus, designated the BQ strain, was confirmed by the production of a specific cytopathic effect on susceptible cells and by the results from ELISA, PCR, immunofluorescence assay, and electron microscopy. PPV BQ strain was adapted to growth in a swine testicular cell line. When inoculated into healthy sows, PPV BQ caused the same reproductive disorder observed in the affected herd.