Persistence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

摘要

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is perhaps the most economically important disease of swine in the 1990's. Recent studies in our laboratory and by others establish that the PRRS virus (PRRSV) causes both acute and persistent infections (1-7). To study the pathogenesis of both acute and persistent PRRS infections, we have used a congenital model in which gilts are infected at 90 days of gestation and pigs which survive 21 days after birth are monitored for persistence of the virus (2). The benefit of this model is that liveborn pigs experience both an acute PRRS infection that mimics the disease in the field and pigs that survive beyond 21 days postpartum become asymptomatic and persistently infected with PRRSV. The intent of this article is to briefly review the pathogenesis Of acute PRRS and provide information on the pathogenesis of persistent infections with PRRSV.