Prevalence of novel porcine circovirus 3 in Korean pig populations

•Korean PCV3 was evaluated using pen-based oral fluid samples.•PCV3 prevalence was 44.2% and 72.6% in samples and at the farm level, respectively.•Korean PCV3 shared 99.2% nucleotide identity to US strains. Porcine circovirus 3 (PCV3) is a novel porcine circovirus that was identified in pigs with porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome, reproductive failure, and multi-systemic inflammation. However, the distribution and genetic characteristics of emerging PCV3 in Korea remains unclear. In this study, we determined the nationwide prevalence and genetic characteristics of PCV3 using pen-based oral fluid samples. The total prevalence of PCV3 in individual samples and at the farm level was 44.2% (159/360) and 72.6% (53/73), respectively. Korean PCV3 shared 99.2±0.2% (98.9–99.8%) and 98.6±0.5% (97.9–99.8%) nucleotide identity in the complete genome and ORF2, respectively, when compared to those of US strains. These data suggested that PCV3 is widely distributed throughout Korean pig populations.