THE INFECTION OF FERRETS WITH SWINE INFLUENZA VIRUS

Abstract

The experiments described confirm the earlier observation of Smith, Andrewes, and Laidlaw that the swine influenza virus is pathogenic for ferrets when administered intranasally. A disease that is clinically more severe and pathologically more extensive than that described by the above workers is obtained if inoculation with the virus is performed under ether anesthesia. Animals infected in this way show at autopsy an edematous type of pneumonia of lobar distribution which may terminate fatally. The virus maintains its pathogenicity for ferrets when stored in 50 per cent glycerol at refrigerator temperature for as long as 75 days. After serial passage through 16 ferrets the virus is still capable of inducing swine influenza when mixed with H. influenzae suis and administered intranasally to swine. Ferret passage causes no apparent attenuation of the virus for swine. Serum from pigs recovered from swine influenza is capable of neutralizing the ferret-passaged virus for either swine or ferrets. Likewise serum from recovered ferrets neutralizes the swine influenza virus for either ferrets or swine.