Lesions in lambs experimentally infected with ovine adenovirus serotype 6 and Pasteurella haemolytica

National Animal Disease Center, US Department of Agricultural, Ames, IA 50010, USA.

Twenty-five colostrum-deprived lambs reared in isolation were inoculated with a US variant of ovine adenovirus serotype 6 (OAV-6) strain RTS-151, Pasteurella haemolytica, or a combination of the 2 agents. Although severe pulmonary lesions were caused by each agent, the lesions were more severe and lasted longer with the combined infection. Lesions induced by OAV-6 alone developed 6-9 days after inoculation and lasted for 15 days, the length of the experiment. The lesions were characterized by suppurative inflammation at the junction of the terminal bronchioles and alveoli. Air spaces were filled with neutrophils and sloughed epithelial cells, which often contained large intranuclear inclusions. Lesions induced by P. haemolytica alone developed within 1 day and persisted for no more than 10 days and were characterized by severe pulmonary edema with variable amounts of fibrin. Lesions induced by the combined infection had aspects of each infection alone and resulted in severe disease in 4 of 8 lambs that were permitted to live more than 1 day after inoculation with bacteria. Early pulmonary lesions included edema, limited fibrin deposition, and slight purulent bronchiolitis and alveolitis. Later lesions included necrosis and more fibrin. For lambs inoculated with both pathogens, resolution was incomplete 15 days after inoculation of virus (10 days after inoculation of P. haemolytica). The results presented here corroborate previous findings indicating that the RTS-151 variant of OAV-6 is common in lambs and acts in concert with P. haemolytica to cause severe and often fatal pneumonia.