Ausschuss für Hygiene

Host species:

• guinea pig

Organotropism:

• lungs, upper respiratory tract

Clinical disease:

• dyspnea (rapid, shallow, labored or noisy breathing), a hunched posture, piloerection (roughened coat), eventually sensitivity to touch, hypothermia and death in sporadic cases within 1 hour or 1 day caused by an acute lobar bronchopneumonia (necrotizing bronchiolitis)

Morbidity and mortality:

• Note: The virus alone seems not to be able to elicit the disease; some additional weakening factors are necessary (multi-factorial disease). Nothing is known about the prevalence of the virus in infected colonies. Morbidity is considered to be low and mortality close to 100% (no animal showing clinical dyspnea recovered). Subclinical infection of the upper respiratory tract has recently been found.

Interference with research:

• Sudden death of experimental guinea pigs in sporadic cases (or reaching about 5 % mortality of a batch at the most). No other interference is known.

Note:

• Diagnostic method: beside histology and electron microscopy also PCR (Pring-Akerblom et al., 1997). May be used to detect subclinical infection in the upper resiratory tract (Butz and Homberger, 1997).

References:

Brandon, D. R. 1995. Adenovirus: an "in-house" investigation into the cause of lethal pneumonia in guinea pigs. Anim. Technol. 46:139-151.

Brennecke, L. H., T. M. Dreier, and W. S. Strokes. 1983. Naturally occurring virus associated respiratory disease in two guinea pigs. Vet. Pathol. 20:488-491.

Butz, N., and F. R. Homberger. 1997. Pathogenesis of the adenovirus infection in the guinea pig. GV-SOLAS meeting, 9.-11. Sept., Jena, Germany.

Feldmann, S. H., J. A. Richardson, and F. J. Clubb. 1990. Necrotizing viral bronchopneumonia in guinea pigs. Lab. Anim. Sci. 40:82-83.

Hsiung, G. D., B. P. Griffith, and F. J. Bia. 1986. Herpesviruses and retroviruses of guinea pigs, p. 451-504, In Bhatt, P.N., R.O. Jacoby, H.C.III. Morse, A.E. New (eds.), Viral and mycoplasmial infections of laboratory rodents. Effects on biomedical research. Academic Press Inc., Orlando, Florida.

Junker, U., and G. E. Bestetti. 1988. Adenoviruspneumonie beim Meerschweinchen. Schw. Arch. Tierheilk 130:629-633.

Kaup, F. J., S. Naumann, I. Kunstyr, and W. Drommer. 1984. Experimental viral pneumonia in guinea pigs. An ultrastructural study. Vet. Pathol. 21:521-527.

Kraft, V. 1992. Viruses, p. 9-38, In Kunstyr, I. (ed.), Diagnostic microbiology for laboratory animals, Stuttgart Jena New York, Gustav Fischer Verlag.

Kunstyr, I., J. Maess, S. Naumann, F. J. Kaup, and K .W. Knocke. 1984. Adenoviruspneumonia in guinea pigs: An experimental reproduction of the disease. Lab. Anim. 18:55-60.

Naumann, S., I. Kunstyr, I. Langer, J. Maess, and R. Hörning. 1981. Lethal pneumonia in guinea pigs associated with a virus. Lab. Anim. 15:235-242.

Pring-Akerblom, P., K. Blazek, J. Schramlova, and I. Kunstyr. 1997. PCR for diagnosis of adenovirus associated pneumonia in guinea pigs. J. Vet. Diagn. Invest. 9:232-236.