University of Calgary releases new findings on ‘most abundant pig virus’

May 02, 2017

Researchers test to determine best age for vaccination

Students at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) found that producers can vaccinate piglets at a younger age than the industry standard for Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2), according to a May 2 release.

Piglets infected with PCV-2 can suffer multiple porcine circovirus-related diseases, such as post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome or porcine dermatitis, according to the UCVM research paper published January 2017.

Some producers feel it is best to vaccinate early but there was little research to back this decision up, says Dr. Markus Czub, professor of virology and emerging infectious disease at UCVM.

“PCV-2 is the most abundant pig virus globally and a major concern for the pig industry,” he said in the May 2 release. “The approach (to vaccinating pigs against the virus) was the-earlier-the-better but there was no data.”

Some common vaccines for PCV2 are registered in Canada for piglets aged starting at three weeks.

Researchers – veterinary students – vaccinated piglets of various ages to determine vaccine efficacy.

After collecting various samples from the pigs, such as saliva and weight, researchers found similar immune responses between piglets vaccinated at less than six days old and at older ages. As a result, researchers found earlier vaccinations could be beneficial in areas such as salivary shedding (spreading the virus through saliva).

Video: Four Star Pork Industry Conf - Back to Basics: Fundamentals drive vaccine performance

At a time when disease pressure continues to challenge pork production systems across the United States, vaccination remains one of the most valuable and heavily debated tools available to veterinarians and producers.

Speaking at the 2025 Four Star Pork Industry Conference in Muncie, Indiana, Dr. Daniel Gascho, veterinarian at Four Star Veterinary Service, encouraged the industry to return to fundamentals in how vaccines are selected, handled and administered across sow farms, gilt development units and grow-finish operations.

Gascho acknowledged at the outset that vaccination can quickly become a technical and sometimes tedious topic. But he said that real-world execution, not complex immunology, is where most vaccine failures occur.