Surveillance of bungowannah pestivirus in the upper midwestern USA

Pestiviruses, a genetically and antigenically highly diverse group, include one of the most historically significant swine pathogens, that is, classical swine fever virus. In Australia, investigations into swine outbreaks characterized by neonatal mortality, stillbirths and mummified foetuses resulted in the discovery of a new pestivirus, Bungowannah virus. This finding raised the possibility that Bungowannah virus, or a variant thereof, was circulating in swine herds elsewhere in the World. If so, it raised the possibility of a pestivirus emerging as a new swine disease with unknown consequences for animal health and food safety. Thus, we developed three specific qRT-PCR assays to evaluate tissue samples from undiagnosed cases of abortion or respiratory disease for evidence of Bungowannah virus. Examination of 64 samples collected between the Fall of 2007 and Spring of 2010 tested negative for all three genes examined. We conclude that Bungowannah-like pestivirus is unlikely to be present in swine in the upper Midwestern USA.