Effect of infections with swine fever virus on immune functions. III. Antibody response to lipopolysaccharide and sheep red blood cells

In order to determine the effect of infections with low-virulent swine fever virus (SFV) on antibody responses, pigs were administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or sheep red blood cells (SRBC), 2 days after infection. Infected pigs showed an enhanced primary response to LPS late during infection. The secondary response to LPS seemed to be unaffected. Both the primary and secondary antibody response to SRBC appeared to be enhanced rather than depressed in infected pigs. These in vivo findings suggest that pigs infected with low-virulent SFV do not develop a depression of B lymphocyte function.