[Effect of viral structure and replication characteristics on the pathogenesis of infectious bursal disease]

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is a highly contagious disease of young chickens, which occurs world-wide, and is responsible for severe losses in poultry industries. In birds surviving an acute infection, lymphoid cells in the bursa of Fabricius are destroyed, resulting in B-cell-dependent immunodeficiency. This causes increased susceptibility to diseases by otherwise harmless agents. The decisive role in the pathogenesis of IBD is played by the bursa, representing the target organ of the aetiological agent, infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). By adaptation of IBDV to chicken embryo cells, we obtained several variants of a pathogenic wild type strain. These variants had altered abilities for replication in actively dividing B lymphocytes and, consequently, had altered pathogenic properties. An IBDV isolate from turkeys, non-pathogenic for chickens, was used to create reassortant virus strains. The virological and the biological characterization of these IBDV variants is reported.