title: The aetiology of wobbly possum disease: Reproduction of the disease with purified nidovirus.
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate a role of a recently discovered marsupial nidovirus in the development of a neurological disease, termed wobbly possum disease (WPD), in the Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). Four possums received 1 mL of a standard inoculum that had been prepared from tissues of WPD-affected possums, 4 possums received 1.8 mL (1 × 10(6) TCID50) of a cell lysate from inoculated cultures, and 4 possums received 1 mL (× 10(7) TCID50) of a purified WPD isolate. All but one possum that received infectious inocula developed neurological disease and histopathological lesions characteristic for WPD. High levels of viral RNA were detected in livers from all possums that received infectious inocula, but not from control possums. Altogether, our data provide strong experimental evidence for the causative involvement of WPD virus in development of a neurological disease in infected animals.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Tennent drive, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Electronic address: J.C.Giles@Massey.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Tennent drive, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perrott
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Tennent drive, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Wendi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Roe
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Tennent drive, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dunowska
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D028381:Nidovirales / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D030341:Nidovirales Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D048330:Trichosurus / Q000821:virology*
keywords: Aetiology; Arterivirus; Australian brushtail possum; Koch׳s postulates; Trichosurus vulpecula; WPD; Wobbly possum disease