Table 2 Laboratory investigations performed on samples collected during the necropsies on 9 piglets
From: Management of encephalomyocarditis virus infection in Italian pig farms: a case report
Samples | Methods | Etiologic agent/aim | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
Brain, spleen; kidney | Bacteriology (brain was cultured on blood agar supplemented with NAD and Gassner agar as well as spleen and kidney were cultured on blood agar and Gassner agar) | Streptococcus suis, Haemophilus parasuis, Escherichia coli and other possible bacterial agents | Negative |
Spleen, lung | RT-PCR | PRRSV | Negative |
Brain | PCR | PRV | Negative |
Spleen, lymph nodes | ELISA (antigen) | CSF | Negative |
Heart | RT-PCR | EMCV | Positive |
Brain, lung, heart, thymus, lymph nodes, liver, stomach, intestine, kidney, spleen, pancreas, bone marrow | Histology and immunohistochemistry (EMCV mAb 3E5) | - microscopic evaluation of tissues - confirmation of the results obtained with the other diagnostic methods | Immunohistochemistry detected EMCV in cardiac muscle cells, Purkinje fibres, endothelial cells of blood vessels and macrophages (Fig. 3). The heart showed myocarditis characterized by an interstitial lymphoplasmacytic infiltration (Fig. 2) |
Heart | Cell culture (African green monkey kidney epithelial cell – MARC 145) | - isolation of EMCV | Isolated (Fig. 4) |
Cell culture with cytopathic effect | ELISA (antigen) | - EMCV identification | Identified |