PMWS (Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome) In Central Italy: Histopathological, Immunohistochemical and Ultrastructural Findings

We describe the presence of Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2) in thirteen pigs necropsied in Department of Biopathological Sciences and Hygiene of Animal and Alimentary Productions in Perugia. Sistemic lymphadenopathy, sometimes haemorrhagic and necrotic, spleen enlarged thymus atrophic, lungs collapse and consolidated, were the principal gross findings. The most consistent histological lesion was a moderate to severe lymphocellular depletion in lymphoid organs, syncytial giant cell formation, and intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in macrophages. PCV-2 was immunohistochemically detected in all pigs with PMWS. Electron microscopy investigations demonstrated viral particles compatible with Porcine PCV-2.