A comparison of the pathogenicity of two strains of hog cholera virus. 2. Virological studies.

Quantitative and qualitative differences were demonstrated in the amount of virus in a range of tissues from pigs infected with either the Weybridge or New South Wales (NSW) strains of hog cholera (HC) virus. The titre of the Weybridge strain in samples, as assessed by either virus titration in cell culture or by the density of specific fluorescing cells in tissue sections, was higher than that for the NSW strain. This correlated with the greater severity of the clinico-pathological syndrome induced by the Weybridge strain. The implications of the differences in the virus content of tissues in the diagnosis of HC is discussed as is the use of monoclonal antibodies to differentiate HC and bovine virus diarrhoea viruses.