title: Transmission of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus from persistently infected sows to contact controls.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine if porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) could persist in non-pregnant sows and if persistently infected sows could transmit virus to naive contact controls. Twelve PRRSV-naive, non-pregnant sows (index sows) were infected with a field isolate of PRRSV and housed in individual isolation rooms for 42 to 56 days postinfection. Following this period, 1 naive contact sow was placed in each room divided by a gate allowing nose-to-nose contact with a single index sow. Index sows were not viremic at the time of contact sow entry. Virus nucleic acid was detected by polymerase chain reaction, and infectious virus was detected by virus isolation in sera from 3 of the 12 contact sows at 49, 56, and 86 days postinfection. All 3 infected contacts developed PRRSV antibodies. Virus nucleic acid was detected in tissues of all of the 12 index sows at 72 or 86 days postinfection. Nucleic acid sequencing indicated that representative samples from index and infected contacts were homologous (> 99%) to the PRRSV used to infect index sows at the onset of the study. This study demonstrates that PRRSV can persist in sows and that persistently infected sows can transmit virus to naive contact animals.
authors.affiliation: Center for Swine Disease Eradication, Department of Clinical and Population Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108, USA.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bierk
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Dee
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Rossow
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otake
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Molitor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001483:Base Sequence; D002908:Chronic Disease; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D019318:Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission*; D019316:Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D017385:Sequence Homology; D013552:Swine; D014766:Viremia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology; D017201:Virus Shedding
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral