The effect of an intrauterine viral infection on the skin follicles of sheep

Border disease of sheep is a transplacental viral infection of the foetus. In medium and fine fleeced breeds, the most consistent of the pathological changes is permanent primary follicle enlargement, first apparent at 115 days gestation and accompanied by increased fibre size and frequency of fibre medullation. A tendency for fewer secondary follicles to develop in Border disease is probably an indirect consequence of infection.Primary follicles are only susceptible to the effects of Border disease following maternal inoculation with standard inoculum up to 80 days gestation. The subsequent resistance of primary follicles may be related to a loss of susceptibility with differentiation or, more probably, to the development of a foetal immunological response to the agent.In coarse fleeced breeds, the skin appears to be unaffected by Border disease. It may be that Border disease de-inhibits follicle growth limiting mechanisms in finer fleeced breeds, causing reversion to a more primitive, coarser fleece type.