Porcine Circovirus 2 Genotypes, Immunity and Vaccines: Multiple Genotypes but One Single Serotype

Abstract

Identified for the first time in the 1990s, Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2) should not be considered an emerging virus anymore. Nevertheless, many aspects of its biology and epidemiology are still controversial. Particularly, its high evolutionary rate has caused the emergence of several variants and genotypes, alternating on the worldwide proscenium. The biological and practical implications of such heterogenicity are unfortunately largely unknown. The effectiveness of currently available vaccines against new genotypes that have emerged over time has been the topic of an intense debate and often inconclusive or contradictory results between experimental, field, and epidemiological studies have been gathered. The challenge in establishing an effective PCV-2 disease model, the peculiarities in experimental design and settings and the strains involved could justify the observed differences. The present work aims to summarize and critically review the available knowledge on PCV-2 genetic heterogeneity, immunity, and vaccine efficacy, organizing and harmonizing the available data from different sources, shedding light on this complex field and highlighting current knowledge gaps and future perspectives. So far, all vaccines in the market have shown great efficacy in reducing clinical signs associated to diseases caused by PCV-2, independently of the genotype present in the farm. Moreover, experimental data demonstrated the cross-protection of PCV-2a vaccines against the most widespread genotypes (PCV-2a, PCV-2b, and PCV-2d). Therefore, despite the significant number of genotypes described/proposed (PCV-2a to PCV-2i), it seems one single PCV-2 serotype would exist so far.