Porcine teschovirus (PTV) previously classified as porcine enteroviruses in the family Picornaviridae are associated with a wide range of illnesses in swine ranging from asymptomatic infection to acute fatal encephalomyelitis, diarrhea, and pneumonia. This study was planned to investigate whether porcine teschovirus is prevalent among pigs in India and to characterize the PTV identified in the study population. The study conducted in certain farms of North India revealed that 13 of 190 (6.84%) fecal samples were PTV positive by RT-PCR. Three viruses were successfully isolated from fecal samples using IB-RS-2 cell lines which were confirmed by RT-PCR and sequencing. Molecular characterization based on the VP1 region of the viral genome identified the isolated viruses as serotype 5 and serotype 8 of PTV. A new variant of teschovirus was also identified which showed significant nucleotide diversity from the known serotypes of the teschoviruses. This is the first report of isolation, identification, and characterization of porcine teschoviruses in India.
Keywords: Genotyping; India; Porcine teschovirus; RT-PCR.