Active surveillance reveals evidence of high seroprevalence of porcine respiratory pathogens in high-risk wildlife-livestock ecosystems along Uganda’s Albertine Rift Region

Active surveillance reveals evidence of high seroprevalence of porcine respiratory pathogens in high-risk wildlife-livestock ecosystems along Uganda’s Albertine Rift Region | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Active surveillance reveals evidence of high seroprevalence of porcine respiratory pathogens in high-risk wildlife-livestock ecosystems along Uganda’s Albertine Rift Region Emmanuel Hasahya, Andrew Wange Bugenyi, Paul Bogere, Joseph Byaruhanga, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7683990/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Uganda is East Africa’s leading producer of pork, yet data on swine respiratory pathogens remains limited, particularly at the wildlife-livestock interfaces of the Albertine Rift region. Here we assessed the seroprevalence, and risk factors of six key pathogens associated with Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC) — Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV), Swine Influenza Virus (SIV), Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2), Porcine Adenovirus (ADV), Porcine Parvovirus (PPV), and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MH) —in this high-risk ecosystem. Results Data from 90 pig herds across 11 districts revealed high prevalence rates for SIV (82.2%), PCV2 (70.0%), and PPV (62.7%); moderate for MH (18.9%), low for ADV (1.1%) andan absence of PRRSV. Risk factors linked to high pathogen prevalence included boar sharing, lack of perimeter fencing, and inadequate equipment hygiene. Results also showed that scavenging restrictions were protective against MH. The absence of PRRSV may reflect epidemiological isolation from high-density pig areas in central Uganda, though high within-region contact rates suggest vulnerability to rapid spread if introduced. Conclusion This study establishes critical baseline data for swine respiratory pathogens in western Uganda, highlights the Albertine region as a potential hotspot for pathogen emergence, and emphasizes the need for surveillance, farmer training, and biosecurity interventions to protect pig health and productivity. Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex Uganda Albertine Rift region Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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