Susceptibility of mink to sheep scrapie.

A progressive, fatal spongiform polioencephalopathy was induced in mink intracerebrally inoculated with a suspension of brain from a Suffolk sheep with naturally acquired scrapie. The clinical signs and pathological lesions of the experimental disease were indistinguishable from transmissible mink encephalopathy, a disease of undetermined origin that occurs in mink.

Detection of pseudorabies virus antibodies: time of appearance by two serotests.

This report describes a time-course comparison of detection of pseudorabies virus antibodies in experimentally infected swine by the virus-neutralization (VN) and indirect hemagglutination tests. Specific antibody titers were observed by the IHA test at 5 days after swine were inoculated, but not until 12 days by the VN test. The predominant immunoglobulin (Ig) class present in the serums of the swine at 5 and 7 days after inoculation was IgM, as determined by sulfhydryl reductions. The VN test lacked sensitivity to early Ig levels (IgM) in these experimentally infected swine, while the indirect hemagglutination test was highly sensitive to these same levels. On the basis of these results, it is possible that the VN test may read early infections as pseudorabies virus negative, due to the low presence of IgG in these samples.

Shedding patterns in swine of virulent and attenuated pseudorabies virus.

Shedding patterns of 2 virulent (P-2208 and KC-152-D) and 1 attenuated (BUK) strains of pseudorabies virus (PRV) were determined in groups of intranasally inoculated feeder pigs. Clinical signs observed following inoculation with the P-2208 and KC-152-D strains included increase in rectal temperatures up to 42.2 C, anorexia, severe respiratory disturbance, and fatal CNS signs in 2 cases. Clinical signs in pigs inoculated with 7.2 X 10(7) median tissue culture infective dose (TCID50) of the BUK strain were limited to depression and a rise in rectal temperatures to 40.5 C for 3 to 4 days. Evaluation of the efficacy of the virus isolation method used showed that the presence on swabs of only 12.5 TCID50 of the P-2208 strain or 8.4 TCID50 of the BUK strain resulted in a 50% chance of virus recovery. Intranasal inoculations with 500 TCID50 of the P-2208 or KC-152-D strain did not result in synchronous infection of the whole group. Intranasal inoculations with 5,000 TCID50 of the KC-152-D strain or 50,000 TCID50 of the P-2208 strain resulted in continuous virus shedding in all pigs between postinoculation days (PID) 4 and 13 (KC-152-D strain) or 14 (P-2208 strain). Some of the pigs in these 2 groups further shed the P-2208 or KC-152-D strain in a continuous or discontinuous pattern up to PID 19 (P-2208 strain) or 20 (KC-152-D strain). The time of onset or the level of virus neutralizing antibody production in individual pigs was not found to have an influence on their shedding patterns.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Pseudorabies virus, porcine parvovirus, and porcine enterovirus interactions with the zona pellucida of the porcine embryo.

Porcine embryos (n = 93) were incubated on cell monolayers that had been previously inoculated with pseudorabies virus, porcine parvovirus (PPV), or each of 2 porcine enteroviruses. After 2, 24, or 48 hours of incubation, the embryos were fixed in glutaraldehyde and examined by electron microscopic procedures. It was found that pseudorabies virus adsorbed to the zona pellucida (ZP) and entered sperm tracks in the ZP. The PPV and both enteroviruses entered pores in the ZP and were associated with sperm that were at or near the outer surface of the ZP. In addition, PPV was seen enmeshed in cellular debris on the outer surface of the ZP. Evidence of a productive viral infection of the blastomeres of the embryos was not found.

Antiviral therapy.

Antiviral therapy is gradually coming of age. More agents including interferons as well as combinations of agents can be anticipated in the marketplace. Five antivirals are now approved for use, and there are at least seven that have a strong chance of becoming available.

Identification of immunologically distinct antigens in pseudorabies virus.

Antigenic proteins of pseudorabies viruses (PrV) are poorly understood. Proteins from purified PrV and membrane proteins from these viral infected cells, therefore, have been studied by antigenic analysis, using virus neutralization and agargel immunoelectrophoresis tests and by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively. The study of crossed immunoelectrophoresis against specific antiviral serum antibodies revealed four immunologically distinct antigens involved in PrV. According to their electromobilities, these four immunologically distinct antigens were designated as Ag 1, Ag 2, Ag 3 and Ag 4. The study of dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamine gel electrophoresis of a membrane-bound but detergent solubilized viral antigenic complex from PrV infected cells also demonstrated the involvement of four glycoprotein antigens. By interpolations of relative mobilities between known protein markers, the molecular weights of these four glycoproteins were estimated to be 61,500, 68,000, 75,000, and 88,000. Results from two dimentional immunoelectrophoresis seemed to be concordant with those obtained by dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This report, therefore presents results, which strongly suggest antigenic similarities in the virion of PrV and cellular membrane glycoproteins of cells infected by this agent. The molecular weight of these four immunologically distinct antigens, Ag 1, Ag 2, Ag 3 and Ag 4, are presumed to have the following molecular weights of 88,000, 75,000, 68,000 and 61,500, respectively.

Indirect hemagglutination test for pseudorabies antibody detection in swine.

An indirect hemagglutination test for the detection of antibodies in swine serum specific for pseudorabies virus is described. The indirect hemagglutination test was less time consuming than the standardized virus nertralization test while being highly sensitive and accurate. Serum samples that were toxic to virus neutralization indicator cells were readily tested in the indirect hemagglutination test. The indirect hemagglutination test may also be more sensitive than the virus neutralization test for determining early titers in pseudorabies virus infections. Complete methodology is described.