Thermal and pH stability of pestiviruses

Three strains/isolates of hog cholera virus (HCV) and two strains/isolates each of cytopathogenic (cp) and non-cytopathogenic (ncp) biotype of bovine virus diarrhoea virus (BVDV) were each exposed to pH 3, 3.5 and 4 at 4 degrees C, 21 degrees C and 37 degrees C in a number of combinations. Infectivity titration and half-life determinations following correlation and regression analysis showed a significant temperature-dependent shortening of half-lives within the pH range investigated. At pH 3, mean half-lives were more than tenfold lower when HCV was kept at an ambient temperature of 21 degrees C rather than at 4 degrees C. Additionally, in some of the strains/isolates tested, half-lives of HCV kept at 4 degrees C were four to ten times lower when the pH was raised from 3 to 4. BVDV appeared more sensitive at 4 degrees C and pH 3 than HCV, but equally sensitive at 21 degrees C. Differences in temperature or pH stability between cp and ncp biotypes of BVDV could not be statistically verified although, in general, the cp biotypes seemed to be more stable than the ncp strains/isolates.