[New types of virus infections of domestic animals in the German Democratic Republic. 3. Seroepizootiologic and experimental studies of herpesvirus infections in sheep--the etiology of pulmonary adenomatosis].
Neutralisation tests for antibodies against ovine herpesvirus were applied to 848 sera which had been sampled from different sheep herds across the GDR. Between six and 20 percent of sheep in the herds tested exhibited neutralising antibodies, notwithstanding their pulmonary adenomatosis status. Incidence and titre distribution of antibodies against ovine herpesviruses in pulmonary adenomatosis herds were identical with those recorded from unsuspected herds. From among 21 sheep with pathomorphologically secured pulmonary adenomatosis, six animals exhibited antibody titres just as high as those recorded from responders of all herds examined. Lambs were obtained by hysterectomy and raised without mothers and were experimentally infected with Herpesvirus ovis. All of these animals responded to infection by clearly rising titres (between 1:2 and 1:32). Adenomatous pulmonary lesions were not recordable from any of them. One lamb, following experimental ovine herpesvirus infection, exhibition, exhibited subclinical interstitial pneumonia. Herpesvirus ovis has been widespread in sheep herds across the GDR. The authors' serological and experimental investigations do not support the assumption of an aetiological relationship between ovine herpesvirus infection and incidence of pulmonary adenomatosis.