Estimating the prevalence of antibodies against Ungulate protoparvovirus 1 (porcine parvovirus) in wild boar populations for Saxony, Germany

Abstract

Despite the high population density of wild boars ( Sus scrofa) in Germany and the pathogene importance of Porcine parvovirus (PPV), only few data are available about the presence of PPV within this population. Here, the presence of PPV antibodies in sera of the wild boar population were determined in Saxony, Germany, an area of swine production and a natural habitat for wild boar. As a result, 155/285 samples were positive (titer ≥80), and the majority (89.68%) of these positive samples had titers ranging between 320 and 40,960. Increased titers were generally observed in older animals (without statistical significance), but no differences in sex and hunting sites could be determined. These results suggest that the PPV infection rate in Germany (at least in Saxony) is higher than those reported for most other European regions. Since wild boars can harbor new PPV types, these animals need to be intensively monitored in order to avoid the introduction of new PPV strains in the domestic swine population.