Persistence of porcine rubulavirus in experimentally infected boars

Porcine rubulavirus is the etiological agent of blue eye disease in pigs. In boars, this virus causes orchitis and epididymitis and reduces seminal quality. The objective of this study was to determine the persistence of porcine rubulavirus in experimentally infected boars. Nine 12-month-old boars were infected with 5 ml of the PAC-3 strain of porcine rubulavirus at 1 × 10(5) TCID(50)/ml and held for 142 days post infection (DPI) to evaluate humoral immune response. The virus was isolated in cell cultures and detected by RT-PCR. Infection with porcine rubulavirus produced clinical signs beginning at 5 DPI. Necropsy results showed that 3 boars had lesions in the testicles and epididymes. Histological analysis showed the characteristic lesions in all infected boars. Porcine rubulavirus antibodies were detected in the second week post infection and increased significantly (P<0.05) over time. Isolation of the virus from semen was achieved between 5 DPI and 48 DPI and from the testicles and epididymes between 64 DPI and 142 DPI. Viral RNA was detected in the serum between 2 DPI and 64 DPI and in the semen until 142 DPI. These results confirm that the RNA of the porcine rubulavirus persists in the semen and that this virus remains in the reproductive tract for prolonged periods of infection. Semen of persistently infected boars, therefore, represents an important source of the virus and a risk factor for the spread of blue eye disease in swine populations.