Association of bovine respiratory syncytial virus with atypical interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle

Thirty-three cattle with fatal respiratory tract disease were examined for gross and histologic lesions and for the presence of viral and bacterial agents in the lungs. Fifteen cattle had lesions characteristic of atypical interstitial pneumonia (AIP), and 18 had other respiratory tract diseases, including infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, shipping fever pneumonia, bronchopneumonia, pulmonary abscess, and edema of the trachea. Gross necropsy findings in the cattle with AIP were uncollapsed and emphysematous lungs; histopathologic findings included interstitial edema, thickening of alveolar walls, hyaline membrane formation, and hyperplasia of type-II pneumonocytes. The infective agents found in the lungs of the 33 cattle included bovine respiratory syncytial virus, bovine herpesvirus type 1, Pasteurella sp, mycoplasmas, and Corynebacterium pyogenes. Bovine respiratory syncytial virus was detected by use of immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase on lung tissue sections; bovine herpesvirus type 1 was detected by these techniques and by isolation of the virus. Bovine respiratory syncytial virus was significantly (P = 0.01) associated with lesions of AIP (11 of 15), compared with those of other respiratory tract diseases (5 of 18).