Virulent Properties of Russian Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Strains in Experimentally Infected Calves.

The results of experimental study of three noncytopathic and two cytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) strains isolated from cattle in the Siberian region and belonging to the type 1 (subtypes 1a, 1b, and 1d) have been presented. All investigated strains caused the development of infectious process in the seronegative 4-6-month-old calves after aerosol challenge with the dose of 6 log10 TCID50. The greatest virulence had noncytopathic strain and cytopathic strain related to the subtypes 1d and 1b, respectively. All strains in infected calves caused some signs of moderate acute respiratory disease and diarrhea: depression 3-5 days postinfection (p.i.), refusal to food, severe hyperthermia to 41.9°Ð¡, serous exudate discharges from the nasal cavity and eyes, transient diarrhea with blood, leukopenia (up to 2700 cells/mm(3)), and macroscopic changes in the respiratory organs and intestine. The infected animals recovered from 12 to 15 days p.i. and in 90% cases formed humoral immune response 25 days p.i. (antibody titers to BVDV: 1 : 4-1 : 16). Our results confirmed the presence of virulent BVDV1 strains and showed the need for researches on the molecular epidemiology of the disease, development of more effective diagnostic systems, and optimization of control programs with use of vaccines.

New effective chemically synthesized anti-smallpox compound NIOCH-14.

Antiviral activity of the new chemically synthesized compound NIOCH-14 (a derivative of tricyclodicarboxylic acid) in comparison with ST-246 (the condensed derivative of pyrroledione) was observed in experiments in vitro and in vivo using orthopoxviruses including highly pathogenic ones. After oral administration of NIOCH-14 to outbred ICR mice infected intranasally with 100 % lethal dose of ectromelia virus, it was shown that 50 % effective doses of NIOCH-14 and ST-246 did not significantly differ. The 'therapeutic window' varied from 1 day before infection to 6 days post-infection (p.i.) to achieve 100-60 % survival rate. The administration of NIOCH-14 and ST-246 to mice resulted in a significant reduction of ectromelia virus titres in organs examined as compared with the control and also reduced pathological changes in the lungs 6 days p.i. Oral administration of NIOCH-14 and ST-246 to ICR mice and marmots challenged with monkeypox virus as compared with the control resulted in a significant reduction of virus production in the lungs and the proportion of infected mice 7 days p.i. as well as the absence of disease in marmots. Significantly lower proportions of infected mice and virus production levels in the lungs as compared with the control were demonstrated in experiments after oral administration of NIOCH-14 and ST-246 to ICR mice and immunodeficient SCID mice challenged with variola virus 3 and 4 days p.i., respectively. The results obtained suggest good prospects for further study of the chemical compound NIOCH-14 to create a new smallpox drug on its basis.

Using ICR and SCID mice as animal models for smallpox to assess antiviral drug efficacy.

The possibility of using immunocompetent ICR mice and immunodeficient SCID mice as model animals for smallpox to assess antiviral drug efficacy was investigated. Clinical signs of the disease did not appear following intranasal (i.n.) challenge of mice with strain Ind-3a of variola virus (VARV), even when using the highest possible dose of the virus (5.2 log10 p.f.u.). The 50 % infective doses (ID50) of VARV, estimated by the virus presence or absence in the lungs 3 and 4 days post-infection, were 2.7 ± 0.4 log10 p.f.u. for ICR mice and 3.5 ± 0.7 log10 p.f.u. for SCID mice. After i.n. challenge of ICR and SCID mice with VARV 30 and 50 ID50, respectively, steady reproduction of the virus occurred only in the respiratory tract (lungs and nose). Pathological inflammatory destructive changes were revealed in the respiratory tract and the primary target cells for VARV (macrophages and epithelial cells) in mice, similar to those in humans and cynomolgus macaques. The use of mice to assess antiviral efficacies of NIOCH-14 and ST-246 demonstrated the compliance of results with those described in scientific literature, which opens up the prospect of their use as an animal model for smallpox to develop anti-smallpox drugs intended for humans.