Infection by Influenza A Viruses of Tracheal Organ Cultures Derived from Homologous and Heterologous Hosts

Abstract

Human, swine, equine, and avian influenza A viruses were studied in chicken, equine, ferret, and porcine tracheal organ cultures. Interactions between organ cultures and viruses were characterized by determining the 50% organ culture infectious dose (ocid50), yield, and CPE. For most homologous interactions involving virus and tissue obtained from the same host group, infection was established at low ocid50, high yield was obtained, and CPE usually developed. The majority of heterologous infections showed an opposite trend. Only A/70 and a swine virus appeared well adapted for infection of certain heterologous cultures. Serum antibody response of ferrets after inoculation of virus correlated with reaction of ferret tracheal organ cultures to the same strains. The correspondence between viral specificity in tracheal organ cultures and observations on the natural history and experimental pathogenesis of influenza suggests that this host system may supplement studies of the host range of influenza virus in vivo.