Horizontal transmission of pseudorabies virus in cattle

Abstract

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) was not transmitted horizontally from 3 PRV-infected calves to 2 contact control calves during 4 days of comingling in experiment 1. Although these contact control calves developed clinical signs of pseudorabies when infected intranasally with PRV in experiment 2, they did not transmit PRV to a second pair of contact control calves. However, 1 of 2 pigs comingled with these 4 calves seroconverted. During both experiments, moderate amounts (10(2) to 10(5) TCID50) of PRV were present in the nasal secretions of the infected calves during the contact periods. All infected calves traumatized their nares or periorbital tissue. Infected calves developed a nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis mainly involving the brain stem. Four of the 5 infected calves had nonsuppurative ganglioneuritis and acute lymphoid necrosis of germinal centers. Virus could not be recovered from nasal and tonsillar swab samples from contact-control calves and pigs.