Molecular detection of porcine enteric caliciviruses in Venezuelan farms

Caliciviruses are a well-established cause of respiratory, vesicular and hemorrhagic diseases in animals. In addition, these viruses are an important cause of enteric diseases in humans. Recently, molecular analysis of several porcine enteric caliciviruses indicated that they are closely related to human enteric caliciviruses. The objective of this work was to determine the frequency, age distribution, and association with diarrhea of enteric calicivirus infections in piglets and to partially characterize the detected isolates. A total of 203 stool samples from animals 0 to 9 weeks of age, collected between 1993 and 2003 in seven porcine farms located in the central region of Venezuela were tested for enteric caliciviruses by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) amplification using primers designed to detect both norovirus and sapovirus. Selected amplicons were sequenced to establish phylogenetic relationships with reference strains. Calicivirus were detected in 18% (36/204) of the samples. Viruses were detected more frequently in animals between 3 and 4 weeks of age, and were detected in samples from animals with diarrhea and without diarrhea with equal frequencies (14 versus 19%, p > 0.5). Phylogenetic studies based on partial RNA polymerase gene sequences indicated that the Venezuelan isolates were most closely related (75–95% identity) to the sapovirus Cowden reference strain. These results provide evidence that caliciviruses of the genus sapovirus circulate frequently in piglets but further studies are needed to clarify their importance as cause of diarrhea.