Serial studies of virus multiplication and intestinal damage in gnotobiotic piglets infected with rotavirus.

A serial study of rotavirus infection in gnotobiotic piglets is described. They were infected when 7 days old and the course of infection was followed for 21 days, by immunofluorescence and histological examinations of the intestinal epithelium and by titration of the virus content of the gut lumen. There appeared to be two stages of recovery of the intestinal wall, the earlier stage involving non-immune mechanisms and the later invloving antibody.