The growth of akabane virus in chicken embryos.

Akabane virus produced either death or developmental abnormalities including arthrogryposis in chicken embryos inoculated by the yolk sac route when four days old. The effects depended on the dose of virus. Yolk sac inoculation of seven-day-old embryos did not result in abnormal embryos, but some chickens were viraemic when they hatched. Inoculation of older embryos intravenously, into the allantoic cavity, or onto the chorioallantoic membrane had no effect on the embryo and akabane virus was not recovered.