Studies of Quantitative Parameters of Virus Excretion and Transmission in Pigs and Cattle Experimentally Infected with Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus

Abstract

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) can be spread by a variety of mechanisms and the rate of spread, the incubation period and the severity of disease depend on a multitude of parameters, including the strain of virus, the dose received, the route of introduction, the animal species and the husbandry conditions. More knowledge with regard to these parameters is urgently needed to improve resource-efficient disease control. This report describes detailed studies of FMDV load, excretion and transmission in pigs infected with FMDV O UKG 2001, O TAW 1997 and C Noville virus and in cattle infected with the O UKG 2001 virus to facilitate use of a “FMDV load framework” for the assessment of transmission risks. Virus replicated rapidly in pigs and cattle exposed by direct contact. The mean incubation period was around 3–4 days for cattle-to-cattle and 1–3 days for pig-to-pig transmission, depending on the intensity of contact. The results confirmed that a strong relation exists between dose and length of incubation period. Clinical disease was severe in pigs but relatively mild in inoculated cattle; contact infection of cattle appeared to increase the severity of lesions. FMDV RNA was recovered in nasal and mouth swabs from inoculated animals soon after they developed a viraemia and probably reflected the early production and excretion of virus. FMDV RNA in nasal and mouth swabs from contact animals could be detected several days before they showed other signs of infection, indicating the possibility of detecting exposed animals during the incubation period. FMDV RNA could also be detected in swab samples after the viraemic phase. This may have represented background environmental virus that had been trapped in the respiratory tract and mouth. Alternatively, it may have indicated a somewhat slower clearance or half-life of viral RNA or an extended low level of FMDV replication at these sites. The pattern of FMDV RNA concentrations in pigs was closely similar to that in cattle, but the amounts of FMDV RNA were higher.