Frequency and characterization of porcine hokovirus (PHoV) in domestic pigs in eastern China

Abstract

This study reports the frequency and age distribution of porcine hokovirus (PHoV) in domestic pigs and characterizes the strains prevalent in eastern China. A total of 242 tissues from domestic pigs were tested for PHoV using PCR, and six near-full-length genome sequences were used for phylogenetic analysis. The PHoV sequences from domestic pigs in China showed a close relationship to sequences of isolates from Romania and Hong Kong. The results provide evidence that there are differences between PHoV in China compared to early isolates. PHoV infections are more frequent in 0- to 6-week-old pigs than in older ones.