Detection and in vivo transmission of rat orphan parvovirus (ROPV)

Antibodies to rodent parvovirus were detected by the immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test but not by haemagglutination inhibition (HAI) in a commercial rat breeding colony. These antibodies were considered to be a response to so-called 'orphan parvovirus'. The virus was transmissible by intraperitoneal inoculation of infected materials (spleen cell or lymphoid tissue homogenate), and direct contact with infected rats or contaminated bedding. Furthermore, parvoviral-specific DNA sequence coded non-structural (NS) protein was detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in spleen cells and peripheral lymphocytes of experimentally infected rats.