Why the study?
Xenotransplantation is considered a solution for organ shortage, but biosecurity concerns, particularly zoonotic viruses carried by donor pigs, have attracted attention.
This review summarizes the epidemiology, diagnostic, and control measures for zoonotic swine viruses to improve the biosecurity of xenotransplantation.
Underscores zoonotic virus risks in porcine xenotransplantation; leaves open optimal mitigation strategies pending prospective clinical data.
Xenotransplantation is considered a solution for the shortage of organs, and pigs play an indispensable role as donors in xenotransplantation. The biosecurity of pigs, especially the zoonotic viruses carried by pigs, has attracted attention. This review introduces several viruses, including porcine endogenous retroviruses that are integrated into the pig genome in a DNA form, herpesviruses that have been proven to clearly affect recipient survival time in previous xenotransplant surgeries, the zoonotic hepatitis E virus, and the widely distributed porcine circoviruses. The detail virus information, such as structure, caused diseases, transmission pathways, and epidemiology was introduced in the current review. Diagnostic and control measures for these viruses, including detection sites and methods, vaccines, RNA interference, antiviral pigs, farm biosecurity, and drugs, are discussed. The challenges faced, including those posed by other viruses and newly emerged viruses, and the challenges brought by the modes of transmission of the viruses are also summarized.
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Mao et al. (2023) studied this question.
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