One-week-old piglets were inoculated with the porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) either intravenously or directly into the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract. Both inoculation routes resulted in the isolation of virus from the caudal small intestine. Viral replication, however, was only observed upon inoculation into the digestive tract in quantities of โ‰ฅ 103 TCID50. Replication remained limited to a few unidentified cells located in or underneath the epithelial layer at villus- or crypt-sites. Virus was excreted in the faeces for several days but infection of the respiratory tract occured rarely in the same pigs. The results of this study indicate that small changes in molecular structure between PRCV and transmissible gastroenteritis virus have resulted in important changes in host cell tropism. ยฉ 1990.
year โฐ 1990
issn ๐Ÿ—„ 03781135
volume 23
number 1-4
page 237-243
citedbycount 25