Respiratory disease in commercial pig farms is a major concern for swine health and one of the main causes of production losses in the global swine industry. The development of clinical respiratory disease in pigs known as Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC) is often multifactorial and polymicrobial, ...
Respiratory disease in commercial pig farms is a major concern for swine health and one of the main causes of production losses in the global swine industry. The development of clinical respiratory disease in pigs known as Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC) is often multifactorial and polymicrobial, since it is the result from infection with various combinations of pathogens (viruses, bacteria and parasites), besides non-infectious factors as environmental conditions, population size, management strategies and genetics. The bacterial pathogens frequently detected in PRDC cases are Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida, Streptococcus suis, Haemophilus parasuis and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Common viral pathogens include porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, porcine circovirus type 2 and porcine influenza virus. PRDC-associated pathogens can produce synergistic effects and they can be classified into primary pathogens, which weaken the host defense mechanism inducing lesions in respiratory tissues, and secondary pathogens, that generate aggravated diseases. The clinical outcome and necropsy findings may differ depending on the involvement of the different pathogens. Due to the complex nature of the PRDC developing preventive solutions can be a great challenge.
This Research Topic focuses on comprehensive studies about PRDC which provide insight into the pathogenesis, identification and genetic characterization of pathogens, inter-pathogen-interactions, development of monitoring methods and preventing measures of this complex respiratory disease.
The following themes that are invited to this Research Topic include but are not limited to:
-Detection patterns of co-infections, super infections and opportunistic pathogens in pig respiratory disease
-High-throughput sequencing and metagenomics studies in swine respiratory tract
-Interactions of pathogens and their mechanisms of disease potentiation in PRDC
-Risk factors and management strategies for PRDC in growing and finishing pigs
We welcome submissions of high-quality articles including Original Research, short-communication and Review.
Keywords:
swine viruses, molecular biology, phylogenies, molecular characterization studies, polymicrobial infections, synergistic
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.