Table 1 Inclusion criteria and number of cases found for each clinical-pathological group
Age classification | Group | Number of cases | Inclusion criteria | Investigated target tissue/s by ISH and qPCR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Perinatal | Reproductive disease | 149 | History of reproductive failure (abortion, mummified, stillborn) with or without myocarditis and/or arteritis/periarteritis | Heart |
Congenital tremors | 84 | Newborn piglets clinically affected by this condition | Central nervous system | |
Postnatal | PDNS | 80 | Presence of characteristic systemic necrotizing vasculitis and fibrinosuppurative glomerulitis [17] | Kidney |
Arteritis/Periarteritis | 40 | Presence of systemic periarteritis and/or arteritis with or without other lesions in postnatal pigs (mononuclear myocarditis, non-suppurative encephalitis, interstitial pneumonia) | Any tissue displaying periarteritis | |
Myocarditis | 22 | Presence of mononuclear myocarditis in > 3-day-old piglets and absence of systemic arteritis/periarteritis. Some cases had also other lesions (non-suppurative encephalitis, interstitial pneumonia and/or interstitial nephritis) | Heart | |
Encephalitis | 101 | Presence of non-suppurative encephalitis in absence of myocarditis and/or systemic periarteritis. All cases were negative for Aujeszky’s disease virus detection by IHC [18] | Central nervous system | |
PFTS | 111 | Clinical signs compatible with PFTS and presence of thymic atrophy, superficial gastritis and villous atrophy in small intestine [19]. These cases featured or not any of the lesions mentioned above | Pooled tissues |