Herpesvirus isolation from healthy sheep

Abstract

One hundred and fifty healthy lambs were screened for herpesviruses. Nasal swabs were collected from fifty lambs, blood samples from fifty lambs and both nasal swabs and blood from a further fifty lambs. Virus isolation was attempted in foetal lamb kidney cell cultures. No virus was recovered.

A technique, involving hypotonic lysis of erythrocytes, was developed for the separation of ovine leucocytes. White blood cell recovery rates, percentage viability of leucocytes and the degree of red cell contamination compared favourably with other methods of leucocyte separation.

The virus isolation system was tested by propagating equid herpesvirus 2 in the foetal lamb kidney cells. Acridine orange staining of infected monolayers detected degenerative changes not readily discernible by haematoxylin and eosin staining methods.