title: Experimental infection of wild boar and domestic pigs with a foot and mouth disease virus strain detected in the southeast of Bulgaria in December of 2010.
abstract: Foot and mouth disease (FMD) was detected in a wild boar in Southeastern Bulgaria in December 2010. The occurrence and spread of the disease in wild cloven-hoofed animals may pose an unexpected and significant threat to FMD virus (FMDV)-free areas within and outside the European Union. So far, only one well documented experimental infection with FMD in wild boar has been published. In order to obtain more epidemiologically relevant data regarding the disease in wild boar we conducted an experiment with the 2010 Bulgarian FMDV type O isolate. Two young wild boar were challenged while two domestic pigs and two additional wild boar served as contact controls. While the domestic pigs developed severe clinical signs of FMD, the wild boar showed relatively mild course of the disease. Viremia started in contact wild boar 2 days post exposure (DPE) and lasted until 6 DPE. The virus shedding lasted until 9 DPE. On 27 DPE, when the animals were slaughtered, viral RNA was detected in lymphoid tissues and oropharyngeal fluid but no virus could be isolated. Commercial ELISAs and virus neutralisation tests detected antibodies against FMDV on 8 or 6 DPE, respectively. The data of the present study will help to understand FMD in wild boar populations and can be used in models to evaluate the potential role of wild boar in FMD epidemiology.
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: Angele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Breithaupt
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Depner
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: Tsviatko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alexandrov
authors.forename: Lilyana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Polihronova
authors.forename: Georgi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Georgiev
authors.forename: Hinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Meyer-Gerbaulet
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002031:Bulgaria; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D005536:Foot-and-Mouth Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D029544:Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus / Q000502:physiology; D006724:Hoof and Claw / Q000473:pathology; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000821:virology; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000821:virology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D019562:Viral Load; D014766:Viremia; D017201:Virus Shedding
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral