Dual infections of PRRSV/influenza or PRRSV/Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in the respiratory tract.

To study the effect of a previous porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome-infection (PRRS) of the respiratory tract on influenza virus and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) infections, 3-week-old specific-pathogen-free (spf) piglets were intranasally infected with PRRS virus. One week later, when the lung alveolar macrophages of PRRSV infected pigs were lowest in number, a second infection was applied by intranasal aerosol of influenza virus H3N2 or by endobronchial instillation of a mildly virulent App. The first experiment consisted of two groups (only influenza infection or dual PRRSV/influenza infection). A second experiment consisted of 4 groups (only influenza infection, only PRRSV infection, dual PRRSV/influenza infection and uninfected controls). At day 2, 4, 14 and 21 after influenza infection, two pigs were killed and sampled for virological and histopathological examination. Influenza H3N2 virus caused only a mild inflammation of the smaller bronchioli. Previous PRRSV infection did not influence clinical signs during influenza infection. Next, we studied in two experiments the effect of dual PRRSV/App infection during the acute stage at two days after App infection. In a third experiment, the influence of PRRSV on more chronic stages of App infection was studied at two weeks after the App infection. At the end of the experiments, the pigs were killed. Lungs were ranked according to size and kind of the lesions. Lesions were cut and measured, samples were taken for virological and histopathological examination. Statistical analysis of the ranked lung-lesions in the first experiment showed a distinct but small effect of previous PRRSV infection on the development of App-lesions. In PRRSV infected pigs. App produced a more severe disease. The second and third experiment however failed to show any influence of the previous PRRSV infection on the App infection. We conclude that previous PRRSV infection of the respiratory tract of spf pigs does not necessarily enhance the severity of secondary infections of the respiratory tract.