Adenovirus pneumonia in guineapigs: an experimental reproduction of the disease

Abstract

The recently described virus-induced pneumonia in guineapigs (Naumann et al., 1981) was experimentally reproducible in newborn animals, though not in preadult animals. Baby hamsters and newborn rats were also not susceptible to infection. 10 of 11 infected newborn guineapigs developed pathological changes identical with those found in spontaneous cases. The incubation period was from 5 to 10 days. The agent could not be cultivated in vitro, and therefore no applicable serological tests could be established. The morphology of the virus, its intranuclear location, the course of the disease and the histopathological and ultra-structural changes strongly suggest that the virus is an adenovirus specific for guineapigs. The virus did not cross-react with human or fowl adenoviruses. It was ether resistant and non-oncogenic in baby rats and hamsters. During a 5-year period we registered a total of 51 spontaneous death cases diagnosed as adenovirus pneumonia in our experimental guineapigs, 4 from own breeding colony.