ARS | Publication request: PORCINE REPRODUCTIVE AND RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (PRRS): LESIONS

Submitted to: Diseases of Swine
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: December 15, 1997
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: This information comprises a section on the clinical signs of lesions in porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) for the 8th edition of the book titled "Diseases of Swine," ISU Press, Ames, Iowa. PRRSV induces a multisystemic infection in pigs resulting in the potential for all tissues to become infected with virus. However, gross lesions are usually observed in only a few organ systems, e.g. respiratory, lymphoid. Gross and microscopic lesions characteristic of PRRSV infection are most remarkable in neonatal and nursery pigs. In older pigs, lesions attributed to PRRSV infection are similar but much less remarkable. Under field conditions, most PRRSV-infected pigs are co-infected with one or more pathogens which complicates the diagnosis of PRRS based on lesions. PRRSV-induced lesions in the reproductive tracts of the dams and in the fetuses are not as well characterized and less consistently observed.