Isolation and biological properties of some Moroccan strains of Newcastle disease virus

Newcastle disease virus was isolated from six field cases in Morocco. On the basis of the mean death time of chicken embryos, the intracerebral pathogenicity index, and plaque formation on chicken embryo fibroblast monolayers, five isolates were determined to be of the velogenic pathotype. One of these differed from the others in that it agglutinated equine erythrocytes. The sixth isolate was found to be of low virulence but differed from the vaccinal strain tested.     

Isolation and biological properties of virulent subpopulations from lentogenic Newcastle disease virus strains

From each of two lentogenic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strains of the type LaSota and Hitchner B1 a virulent subpopulation could be obtained. The two subpopulations were—in comparison to the two parent viruses—more resistant to the lipid solvent chloroform and more stable against thermal degradation. Also, the glycoproteins haemagglutinin and F (fusion) were more stable against thermal inactivation. Electron microscopic observations revealed in terms of size and morphology all of the characteristics of NDV. Both subpopulations possessed, however, the same elution kinetics as their respective parent strains. The intracerebral and intravenous pathogenicity indices as well as the mean death times of the two subpopulations allow to classify these viruses as virulent Newcastle disease viruses.     

我国部分地区新城疫病毒分离株生物学特性的研究

从北京、昌黎、广州、长春、四平、青岛等地区采集疑似新城疫病鸡的病料,通过鸡胚接种分离出6株病毒,经血凝、血凝抑制试验和形态学观察,鉴定为新城疫病毒（NDV）,分别命名为北京株、昌黎株、广州株、长春株、四平株、青岛株。测定了这6株NDV的致死鸡胚的平均时间（MDT）和脑内致病指数（ICPI）,MDT分别为58．2,64．5,55．2,96。0．61．2和57．9h,ICPI分别为1．66,1．45,1．60,0．69,1．45和1．65。由这两项指标判定北京株、广州株、青岛株为强毒株,昌黎株和四平株为中强毒株,长春株为弱毒株。此外,还测定了6株NDV的血凝谱,各毒株均能凝集鸡和人（O型血）的红细胞,对猪、山羊、绵羊、牛和马的红细胞凝集作用有差异。     

Exposure of sheep to natural aerosols of foot-and-mouth disease virus

Sheep taken individually and allowed to inhale air being drawn along a duct from a cabinet containing pigs acutely infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus for 10 or 15 minute periods were infected by doses as low as 10 TCID50 of virus. The most consistent and reliable indicators of infection were viraemia and seroconversion. The mean times from exposure to onset of viraemia, pyrexia and the appearance of vesicular lesions were 2.5, 3.8 and 4.7 days, respectively. Neither the time from exposure to first detectable viraemia nor vesication correlated with dose. Around 27 per cent of sheep which were known to have been infected did not develop vesicles.     

Horizontal transmission of Aujeszky's disease virus from sheep to pigs

Eight 2-month-old merino lambs were inoculated intranasally with different (10(2.0)-10(5.0)TCID50) amounts of Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV). Electron microscopic studies indicated that ADV replicated in extra-neural sites, in the epithelial cells of the mucosa of the upper and lower respiratory tract. Although the virus was excreted continuously in nasal discharges, horizontal transmission to contact lambs failed. The surviving exposed and contact lambs had no demonstrable antibodies against ADV and they were susceptible when challenged by ADV. However, the virus was transmitted to susceptible pigs in contact with the exposed lambs. One of the five contact pigs showed characteristic clinical signs of Aujeszky's disease, developed a nonsuppurative meningoencephalomyelitis and ADV was recovered from the brain, nasal discharge and other organs. Restriction enzyme analysis of DNA from this virus confirmed the sheep origin of the isolate. The other 4 pigs seroconverted. ADV infection in sheep is therefore a possible source of infection for pigs, but the lack of horizontal transmission in sheep was confirmed.     

Detection of border disease virus in a sheep flock in Saxony

A pestivirus has been isolated from brain samples of two lambs suffering from clinical signs of border disease. The two identical isolates were allocated to the "true" border disease virus group concerning their reaction pattern with monoclonal antibodies and the 5'UTR sequence data. Nevertheless, alterations of phenotype and genotype in comparison with references of both BDV-subgroups have been shown. The existence of an infection with border disease virus in the flock has been confirmed by serological studies.     

一株鸵鸟源新城疫病毒的分离及其分子生物学特性

从2005年山东省某鸵鸟饲养场发病鸵鸟分离出1株新城疫病毒，命名为SD01，采用一步法R-PCR扩增了该分离株F基因的重要功能区片段（535bp），并将其克隆到pMD18-T载体中，进行序列测定，研究了其分子生物学特性。序列分析结果表明，该分离株F基因裂解位点的氨基酸组成与NDV强毒株的特征性结构一致（^112R—R—Q-K—R-F^117）；遗传进化分析表明，该分离株在分类地位上属于基因Ⅶd型，与目前报道的鸵鸟源和其他禽类NDV毒株基因型一样，说明目前我国流行的仍然是NDV基因Ⅶ型。提示，对于鸵鸟新城疫的防治，除进行疫苗免疫之外，采取生物安全措施也是非常重要的。     

Physico-chemical properties of swine vesicular disease virus]

Titration of SVDV on primary pig kidney cell cultures revealed a plating efficiency of less than or equal to 0,9 X 10(-3). Concentration and purification of the SVD-Virus propagated on pig kidney cell cultures were done by chloroform treatment, adsorption, differential- and density gradient centrifugation. The following physical parameters were found: SVDV is an isometrical RNA-virus having a diameter of 25,1 +/- 1,0 nm. It is resistent to the action of chloroform, ether and pH. The virus has a sedimentation coefficient of 156 +/- 3S and a bouyant density in CsCl of 1,33 +/- 0,01 g/ml. Within the family of picornaviruses the SVDV belongs to the subgroup of enteroviruses and can be distinguished from the foot-and-mouth disease virus by the difference in pH-sensitivity and bouyant density in CsCl.     

Some properties of lentogenic Australian newcastle disease virus

The Newcastle disease virus (NDV) occurring in Australia is apathogenic for chickens following natural infections. Some properties of the avirulent Australian V4 strain of NDV and of 12 new isolates of NDV were compared.The viruses grew to high titres following infection of chick embryos by the allantoic cavity and allantoic fluid had infectivity titres of from $\text{10}{}^{\mathrm{8·7}}\text{to}\text{10}{}^{\mathrm{9·5}}\text{EID}{}_{50}\text{0.2}\text{ml}$. With only two isolates did sufficient mortalities occur to allow calculation of mean death times and these were in excess of 140 h. Five of nine isolates failed to kill 100% of embryos when doses in excess of 10^7·9 EID₅₀ were used. When strain V4 was inoculated into the yolk sac of 10-day-old embryos, the LD₅₀ was similar to the ID₅₀ obtained with allantoic cavity inoculation, and the mean death time was 103 h.The intracerebral pathogenicity index for strain V4 was 0.91 and 1.02 in two experiments. The index was not significantly reduced when the virus was taken through a further cycle of plaque purification or when the inoculum was heated at 56°C for 30 min. Chickens with maternally derived antibody to NDV were not susceptible to intracerebral inoculation with strain V4. Chickens dying after intracerebral inoculation with strain V4 had haemorrhagic and necrotic liver lesions. The intracerbral pathogenicity indices for four other isolates varied from 0 to 0.22.The infectivity of V4 and three other isolates was relatively stable at 56°C and that of another eight isolates was labile. Haemagglutinins of all viruses studied were stable at 56°C for longer than 60 min. None of four isolates tested lost haemagglutinin activity on treatment with ether.Haemagglutination-elution patterns were variable but four isolates did not elute from chicken erythrocytes after 24 h at 4°C and strain V4 and isolate PM12 did not elute after 96 h at 4°C. Six viruses, including V4, agglutinated erythrocytes from all of six test horses. The haemagglutinin activity of the remaining viruses varied between horses.Four viruses including V4 haemolysed chicken erythrocytes. Gradient centrifugation allowed the separation of an infectious and a noniffectious haemagglutinin. Haemolytic activity was associated with the infectious haemagglutinin.     

Epidemiological survey of Border disease virus among sheep from northern districts of Japan

The first epidemiological survey of Border disease virus (BDV) was undertaken in small ruminants in Japan. Ovine sera, collected from the northern prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, were examined for the presence of antibodies against BDV using the neutralization peroxidase-linked antibody test. Twenty-nine (17.6%) of one hundred and sixty-five samples were seropositive for BDV. Results were specific, excluding cross-reactions with bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). Only one sample (0.6%) was positive for BVDV, and was negative for BDV. Despite serological evidence of virus circulation, there have been no clinical cases of border disease in sheep in Japan. Although no diagnostic measures were performed, the infection did not appear to be associated with a reduction in ewe fertility nor with lamb mortality.     

Estimation of the transmission of foot-and-mouth disease virus from infected sheep to cattle

The quantitative role of sheep in the transmission of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is not well known. To estimate the role of sheep in the transmission of FMDV, a direct contact transmission experiment with 10 groups of animals each consisting of 2 infected lambs and 1 contact calf was performed. Secretions and excretions (oral swabs, blood, urine, faeces and probang samples) from all animals were tested for the presence of FMDV by virus isolation (VI) and/or RT-PCR. Serum was tested for the presence of antibodies against FMDV. To estimate FMDV transmission, the VI, RT-PCR and serology results were used. The partial reproduction ratio R₀^p i.e. the average number of new infections caused by one infected sheep introduced into a population of susceptible cattle, was estimated using either data of the whole infection chain of the experimental epidemics (the transient state method) or the final sizes of the experimental epidemics (the final size method). Using the transient state method, R₀^p was estimated as 1.0 (95% CI 0.2 - 6.0) using virus isolation results and 1.4 (95% CI 0.3 - 8.0) using RT-PCR results. Using the final size method, R₀^p was estimated as 0.9 (95% CI 0.2 - 3.0). Finally, R₀^p was compared to the R₀’s obtained in previous transmission studies with sheep or cattle only. This comparison showed that the infectivity of sheep is lower than that of cattle and that sheep and cattle are similarly susceptible to FMD. These results indicate that in a mixed population of sheep and cattle, sheep play a more limited role in the transmission of FMDV than cattle.     

Investigation of serum protein profiles in sheep naturally infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus

This study was carried out to determine serum protein profiles in naturally infected sheep with foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). The study material consisted of twelve healthy and 36 sheep with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). FMD had been diagnosed on the basis of clinical findings and results of serological examination. Serotypes serologically detected in the FMDV-infected sheep were as follows: O (n = 11), A (n = 8) and mixed infection with serotypes O, A and Asia-1 (n = 17).The total protein, albumin and globulin concentrations as well as Albumin/Globulin ratio were slightly different among the groups (P < 0.05). Three protein bands of 66 kDa, 45 kDa and 20 kDa were remarkable. Moderate differences were determined between healthy and infected sheep for proportion of distribution in serum proteins. In conclusion, serum protein concentrations and serum protein profiles were slightly changed and no specific serum protein profile occurred in sheep infected with either O or A or in sheep mixed infected with the O and A and Asia-1 serotypes of FMDV compared to healthy ones.     

The distribution of antibodies to Border disease virus among sheep in England and Wales.

Within a sample of the sheep population of England and Wales, 10.8 per cent of 3506 individuals had immunodiffusion test antibody to bovine viral diarrhoea mucosal disease virus antigen. There were marked differences between various geographical regions in the proportion of sheep with antibody, and Border disease may be more common in some areas than disease records indicate.