SWINE POX GENETIC TESTING
Swine pox is a contagious viral disease that is characterized by fever, systemic intoxication and vesicles on the skin and mucous membranes. The disease is currently spread in many countries of the world including the Russian Federation. Viruses of various types can infect pigs including swinepox virus, vaccinia virus, cowpox virus. The disease is particularly dangerous for suckling pigs and weaning pigs. Swine pox spread on the farms of the Russian Federation was studied using polymerase chain reaction. In 2007-2019, we tested 116 samples delivered from 52 farms located in 23 regions of the Russian Federation. The swinepox virus was detected in samples from seven farms. Differential diagnosis of other cutaneous diseases was performed in parallel. In the majority of cases, such agents as Streptococcus suis, Staphylococcus spp., Actinomyces pyogenes, Fusobacterium necrophorum as well as porcine circovirus type 2 were detected. It was demonstrated that on the Russian farms swine pox is a quite rare and sporadic that is indicative of the agent’s presence in the external environment. The disease is manifested both in the classical and congenital form. Novel molecular and genetic tools allow for rapid and accurate identification of the virus even in case of bacterial complications.