Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus: Description of Persistence in Individual Pigs upon Experimental Infection

Authors

R. Allende, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
W. W. Laegreid, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research ServiceFollow
G. F. Kutish, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service
J. A. Galeota, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
R. W. Wills, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Fernando A. Osorio, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

11-1-2000

Comments

Published in JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY, Nov. 2000, p. 10834–10837 Vol. 74, No. 22. Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. Used by permission.

Abstract

We studied the persistence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in individual experimentally infected pigs, during a period of up to 150 days postinfection (dpi). The results of this study suggest that the persistence of PRRSV involves continuous viral replication but that it is not a true steady-state persistent infection. The virus eventually clears the body and seems to do it in most of the animals by 150 dpi or shortly thereafter. High genetic stability was seen for several regions of the persistent PRRSV’s genome, although some consistent mutations in the genes of envelope glycoproteins and M protein were also observed.