Prevalence of the porcine cytomegalovirus virus (PCMV), a porcine roseolovirus, in wild boars in Italy and Germany

Abstract Porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV), which is a porcine roseolovirus (PRV), closely related to the human herpesviruses 6 and 7, is common among commercial pigs. PCMV/PRV was shown to be important in xenotransplantation because transmission of PCMV/PRV in preclinical trials transplanting pig organs into non-human primates was associated with a significantly reduced survival of the xenotransplants. PCMV/PRV was also transmitted in the worldwide first pig heart transplantation into a human patient and obviously contributed to the death of the patient. The prevalence of PCMV/PRV in wild boars is largely unknown. Here, we screen wild boars from several places in Northern Italy and Germany to evaluate the prevalence of PCMV/PRV using PCR-based and Western blot assays. By Western blot analysis 65% and 82% of the Italian and German wild boars were found to be PCMV/PRV-positive, while 36% and 60% tested positive by real-time PCR, respectively. These data indicate that the prevalence in German wild boars is higher compared with the Italian and that the Western blot assay is a more robust tool to detect a PCMV/PRV infection. This data also indicates that pigs generated for xenotransplantation should be secured from contact with materials from wild boars besides commercial pigs .