Table 1.
Transmission of MCMV from latent mothers to nursing pups
| Latent mother (n = 24) (inoculant PFU) | No. of live births | No. of pups live after 3 daysa (% survival rate) | No. of foster-nursed pups | No. of pups with evidence of MCMV vs no. of pups examined (% infection rate) | Means of analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expt 1 (300) | |||||
| A | 0b | ||||
| B | 7 | 7 (100) | 0 | 4 of 6c | Seroconversion |
| C | 5 | 5 (100) | 0 | 3 of 4c | Seroconversion |
| Expt 2 (3,000) | |||||
| A | 7 | 7 (100) | 3 | 6 of 6c | RT-PCR/Southern |
| B | 7 | 3 (43) | 0 | NDd | |
| C | 6 | 2 (33) | 0 | ND | |
| Expt 3 (3,000) | |||||
| A | 5 | 5 (100) | 2 | 7 of 7 | Nested RT-PCR/Southern |
| B | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
| C | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
| D | 9 | 5 (56) | 0 | 5 of 5 | Nested RT-PCR/Southern |
| E | 7 | 7 (100) | 0 | 7 of 7 | Nested RT-PCR/Southern |
| F | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
| G | 0b | 0 | |||
| H | 6 | 2 (33) | 0 | 2 of 2 | Nested RT-PCR/Southern |
| I | 0b | 0 | |||
| J | 4 | 3 (75) | 0 | 3 of 3 | Nested RT-PCR/Southern |
| Expt 4 (3,000) | |||||
| A | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 of 2 | Viral CPE |
| B | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 of 2 | Viral CPE |
| C | 5 | 4 (80) | 4e | 8 of 8 | RT-PCR/Southern |
| 4e | 3 of 4 | Viral CPE | |||
| D | 5 | 2 (40) | 2 | 3 of 4 | Viral CPE |
| E | 8 | 0 | 0 | ||
| F | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| G | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
| H | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 118 | 52 (44) | 54 of 60 (90) |
a
Pups surviving 3 days exhibited long-term survival.
b
All pups were born dead or cannibalized.
c
Not all pups in the litter were examined for MCMV.
d
ND, not done.
e
A total of 8 BALB/c pups were foster nursed by latent mother C.