Systematic Veterinary Virology

INTRODUCTION

• Transmissible gastro-enteritis (TGE) is an acute highly contagious disease of pigs characterised by profuse diarrhoea and vomiting with high morbidity and mortality in piglets. Of late, a respiratory variant of the TGE virus (TGEV), known as the porcine respitratory coronavirus (PRCV) has emerged in Europe and is causing interference in the diagnosis of TGE.
• PRCV is probably a deletion mutant of TGEV. PRCV does not appear to be an important primary pathogen, but it has greatly complicated the diagnosis of TGE, particularly by serological means.