Antibody Response in a Group of Swine After Infection with Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus.

Abstract

Virus-neutralizing antibody and immunity after infection with foot-and-mouth disease virus was studied for 128 days in a group of swine. Antibody first appeared at 3 days, rose to peak levels between 7-10 days, and regressed to a plateau by 28 days. After 28 days, there was little change in mean antibody titres. An attempt to reinfect 10 swine at 28 days was not successful. At 128 days, the immune status of 4 convalescent swine neutralized more than 4 logarithms of virus in an in vivo titration. However, in another group of 5 convalescent swine, one developed vesicular lesions when exposed to infected swine. Efforts to demonstrate latent virus in one pig 128 days after infection were not successful.