HISTOLOGICAL STUDIES OF BOVINE HERPESVIRUS TYPE-4 INFECTION IN NON-RUMINANT SPECIES

The pathology of bovine herpesvirus type 4 (BHV-4) infection was studi ed in cats, rabbits and guinea pigs. Twenty kittens, twenty-two rabbit s and ten guinea pigs, some treated with glucocorticoid were inoculate d with a BHV-4 strain of feline origin, via various routes of inoculat ion (conjunctival, intranasal, peritoneal). Clinical signs were record ed. After euthanizing at different post inoculation days macro- and mi croscopic changes were observed by necropsy and in hematoxylin-eosin s tained histological sections. The presence of the virus in organs was detected by immunohistochemistry and a nested PCR assay. Inclusion bod ies and monoclonal antibody-stained cells were found in the conjunctiv a, trachea, lungs, spleen and lymph nodes. Most of the lesions were lo calized to the respiratory and the immune system. The macro-and micros copic lesions and clinical signs were more severe in kittens and guine a pigs. The histological data indicated that cats, especially kittens, were susceptible for BHV-4 and the infection was not confined to the urinary bladder. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.