Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada.
J Infect Dis. 2011 Jul 15;204(2):200-8. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jir077. Epub 2011 May 12.
(See the editorial commentary by Bausch, on pages 179-81.)
Reston ebolavirus was recently detected in pigs in the Philippines. Specific antibodies were found in pig farmers, indicating exposure to the virus. This important observation raises the possibility that pigs may be susceptible to Ebola virus infection, including from other species, such as Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), and can transmit to other susceptible hosts.
This study investigated whether ZEBOV, a species commonly reemerging in central Africa, can replicate and induce disease in pigs and can be transmitted to naive animals. Domesticated Landrace pigs were challenged through mucosal exposure with a total of 1 ×10(6) plaque-forming units of ZEBOV and monitored for virus replication, shedding, and pathogenesis. Using similar conditions, virus transmission from infected to naive animals was evaluated in a second set of pigs.
Following mucosal exposure, pigs replicated ZEBOV to high titers (reaching 10(7) median tissue culture infective doses/mL), mainly in the respiratory tract, and developed severe lung pathology. Shedding from the oronasal mucosa was detected for up to 14 days after infection, and transmission was confirmed in all naive pigs cohabiting with inoculated animals.
These results shed light on the susceptibility of pigs to ZEBOV infection and identify an unexpected site of virus amplification and shedding linked to transmission of infectious virus.
（见 Bausch 的社论，第 179-181 页。）
最近在菲律宾的猪群中检测到了 Reston 埃博拉病毒。在猪农中发现了特定的抗体，表明他们接触过这种病毒。这一重要发现使人们开始怀疑猪可能容易感染埃博拉病毒，包括来自其他物种的感染，例如扎伊尔埃博拉病毒（ZEBOV），并且可以传播给其他易感宿主。
本研究调查了 ZEBOV（一种在中非地区经常重新出现的物种）是否可以在猪体内复制并引起疾病，以及是否可以传播给易感的动物。通过黏膜暴露，用总共 1×10(6)个蚀斑形成单位的 ZEBOV 对驯化的长白猪进行了挑战，并监测病毒的复制、排出和发病机制。使用类似的条件，评估了感染动物向易感动物的病毒传播情况。
在黏膜暴露后，猪体内复制了 ZEBOV，达到了很高的滴度（达到 10(7)中位数组织培养感染剂量/mL），主要在呼吸道，并发展出严重的肺部病理。感染后可在鼻口黏膜上检测到长达 14 天的病毒排出，并且所有与接种动物同居的易感猪都证实了病毒的传播。
这些结果阐明了猪对 ZEBOV 感染的易感性，并确定了一个意想不到的病毒扩增和排出部位，与传染性病毒的传播有关。
