Experimental in utero infection of pig foetuses with porcine parvovirus (PPV).

Pig foetuses of various gestational ages were exposed to experimental infection with porcine parvovirus (PPV) in utero. Inoculation of 40-, 50- and 60-day-old foetuses with PPV caused foetal death and mummification and spread of the infection to non-inoculated foetuses. Inoculation at 80 and 100 days gestation caused pathological lesions of various degrees whereas spread of infection occurred only sporadically. Serological examinations of foetuses of different ages suggest that immunocompetence for PPV develops before 70 days gestation. The present results strongly indicate that intrauterine spread of PPV is a route of transmission of this virus between pig foetuses.