Etiology of the stomatitis pneumoenteritis complex in Nigerian dwarf goats.

The causative agent of stomatitis pneumoenteritis complex was isolated in domesticated goats and Vero cell culture. It was identified immunologically and morphologically as identical with the "Peste des Petits Ruminants" virus. There were cross reactions between stomatitis pneumoenteritis complex virus isolate and rinderpest virus by immunodiffusion and complement fixation tests but no cross neutralization. Goats recovered from stomatitis pneumoenteritis complex were protected against a challenge with rinderpest virus that was lethal to control goats. Ultrastructural morphology revealed intracytoplasmic and intranuclear inclusions made up of random arrays of fibrillar strands. Pleomorphic particles budded from the plasma membrane of infected cells and enveloped virions were seen extracellularly. Specific ferritin tagging was demonstrated in the stomatitis pneumoenteritis complex virus infected cells treated with homologous and peste des petits ruminants viral antibody systems but little, if any, tagging in the heterologous rinderpest system.