Gastrointestinal and skin lesions in piglets naturally infected with pseudorabies virus

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) infection was diagnosed in 4 piglets from a litter by immunohistopathologic examination and virus isolation. Three piglets had moderate to severe neuronal degeneration, and PRV antigen was detected in Auerbach's myenteric plexus and Meissner's submucosal plexus of the gastrointestinal tract. One piglet had 2 types of skin lesions. One lesion appeared on the hip and ear and was characterized by ballooning degeneration, necrosis of epithelial cells, and intranuclear inclusion bodies. The other was found on the ear and hematoma-like lesion was composed of fibrinoid exudation and degenerative connective tissue. PRV antigen was clearly demonstrated in both skin lesions. These results suggested that degeneration of myenteric plexuses might be another characteristic of lesions in PRV-infected pigs and that the virus spreads by interaction between the skin and myenteric plexuses to the central nervous system.