THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SWINE TO THE VIRUS OF HUMAN INFLUENZA

Abstract

Swine inoculated intranasally with human influenza virus alone develop an ill defined, mild, and usually afebrile illness of short duration. At postmortem the anterior lobes of the lungs of such animals contain scant, scattered areas of lobular atelectasis. Transmission of the virus for 5 serial passages through two groups of swine failed noticeably to enhance its pathogenicity for this species. The disease produced in swine by infection with human influenza virus alone is indistinguishable clinically and pathologically from that caused by infection with swine influenza virus alone. Transmission of human influenza virus from swine to swine by contact succeeded in only one of four attempts. Swine inoculated intranasally with a mixture of human influenza virus and H. influenzae suis usually develop a febrile, depressing illness similar to mild swine influenza. The pneumonia encountered in such animals at autopsy is similar to but less extensive than that seen in swine influenza. In some animals H. influenzae suis fails to become established and the disease then seen is identical with that caused by human influenza virus alone. The human influenza virus recovered after 5 serial transfers in swine was immunologically the same as that with which the experiments were begun.