Giuseppe
Emeritus
:tiphat:Hat-tip Michele Calatri.
[Source: Journal of Infectious Diseases, full text: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
Replication, Pathogenicity, Shedding, and Transmission of Zaire ebolavirus in Pigs
Gary P. Kobinger,1,2 Anders Leung,1 James Neufeld,3 Jason S. Richardson,1 Darryl Falzarano,1,2 Greg Smith,3 Kevin Tierney,3 Ami Patel,1,2 and Hana M. Weingartl2,3
1) Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada; 2) Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba; and 3) National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Background.
Reston ebolavirus was recently detected in pigs in the Philippines. Specific antibodies were found in pig farmers, indicating exposure to the virus. This important observation raises the possibility that pigs may be susceptible to Ebola virus infection, including from other species, such as Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), and can transmit to other susceptible hosts.
Methods.
This study investigated whether ZEBOV, a species commonly reemerging in central Africa, can replicate and induce disease in pigs and can be transmitted to naive animals. Domesticated Landrace pigs were challenged through mucosal exposure with a total of 1 3106 plaque-forming units of ZEBOV and monitored for virus replication, shedding, and pathogenesis. Using similar conditions, virus transmission from infected to naïve animals was evaluated in a second set of pigs.
Results.
Following mucosal exposure, pigs replicated ZEBOV to high titers (reaching 107 median tissue culture infective doses/mL), mainly in the respiratory tract, and developed severe lung pathology. Shedding from the oronasal mucosa was detected for up to 14 days after infection, and transmission was confirmed in all naive pigs cohabiting with inoculated animals.
Conclusions.
These results shed light on the susceptibility of pigs to ZEBOV infection and identify an unexpected site of virus amplification and shedding linked to transmission of infectious virus.
Received 9 July 2010; accepted 28 September 2010.
Potential conflicts of interest: none reported.
Correspondence: Gary P. Kobinger, PhD, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, 1015 Arlington St, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3R2, Canada (gary_kobinger@phac-aspc.gc.ca).
The Journal of Infectious Diseases
Copyright. The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail:
journals.permissions@oup.com
0022-1899 (print)/1537-6613 (online)/2011/00-0001$14.00
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jir077
-
------
[Source: Journal of Infectious Diseases, full text: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
Replication, Pathogenicity, Shedding, and Transmission of Zaire ebolavirus in Pigs
Gary P. Kobinger,1,2 Anders Leung,1 James Neufeld,3 Jason S. Richardson,1 Darryl Falzarano,1,2 Greg Smith,3 Kevin Tierney,3 Ami Patel,1,2 and Hana M. Weingartl2,3
1) Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada; 2) Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba; and 3) National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Background.
Reston ebolavirus was recently detected in pigs in the Philippines. Specific antibodies were found in pig farmers, indicating exposure to the virus. This important observation raises the possibility that pigs may be susceptible to Ebola virus infection, including from other species, such as Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), and can transmit to other susceptible hosts.
Methods.
This study investigated whether ZEBOV, a species commonly reemerging in central Africa, can replicate and induce disease in pigs and can be transmitted to naive animals. Domesticated Landrace pigs were challenged through mucosal exposure with a total of 1 3106 plaque-forming units of ZEBOV and monitored for virus replication, shedding, and pathogenesis. Using similar conditions, virus transmission from infected to naïve animals was evaluated in a second set of pigs.
Results.
Following mucosal exposure, pigs replicated ZEBOV to high titers (reaching 107 median tissue culture infective doses/mL), mainly in the respiratory tract, and developed severe lung pathology. Shedding from the oronasal mucosa was detected for up to 14 days after infection, and transmission was confirmed in all naive pigs cohabiting with inoculated animals.
Conclusions.
These results shed light on the susceptibility of pigs to ZEBOV infection and identify an unexpected site of virus amplification and shedding linked to transmission of infectious virus.
Received 9 July 2010; accepted 28 September 2010.
Potential conflicts of interest: none reported.
Correspondence: Gary P. Kobinger, PhD, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, 1015 Arlington St, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3R2, Canada (gary_kobinger@phac-aspc.gc.ca).
The Journal of Infectious Diseases
Copyright. The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail:
journals.permissions@oup.com
0022-1899 (print)/1537-6613 (online)/2011/00-0001$14.00
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jir077
-
------