Rinderpest virus infection in primary bovine skin fibroblasts.

Rinderpest virus (RPV) replicated to a high titre in primary bovine skin fibroblasts. The course of infection was similar to that seen in established cell lines. Virulent field virus grew at a faster rate than the fully attenuated vaccine strain of the virus. Virus antigen expression, as measured by FACScan analysis, correlated with the time course of infection for the two strains in cell cultures. Wild type virus, obtained directly from cattle, infected cells at a slower rate than virus passaged even once in primary bovine skin fibroblasts. This is the first report of a productive infection of primary bovine skin fibroblasts by wild type RPV.