The outbreak of highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (HP-PRRS) in 2006 devastated the Chinese swine industry. HP-PRRS virus is still the predominant strain in mainland China, rather than the classical PRRSV strain, and the attenuated live vaccine remains the preferred choice for protecting piglets against HP-PRRSV infection. To fully evaluate the safety of strain GDr180, the 180th attenuated virus of the HP-PRRSV strain GD, we used clinicopathological, microscopical, ultrastructural, serological and molecular biological methods to assess the different clinical manifestations and respiratory characteristics of piglets inoculated with HP-PRRSV strain GD or strain GDr180. The 5-week-old piglets inoculated with strain GD displayed marked clinical signs, including fever, anorexia, dyspnoea and tachypnoea. Significant interstitial pneumonia was present, characterized by thickened alveolar septa infiltrated with mononuclear cells and cell debris. However, the piglets inoculated with strain GDr180 and the negative control piglets showed neither clinical signs nor microscopical or ultrastructural lesions. Ultrastructural observation of the piglets' tracheas and examination of the dynamic tissue distributions of PRRSV strain GD and attenuated strain GDr180, by immunohistochemistry and fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, confirmed significant differences in their pathogenicity and distribution in the respiratory systems of piglets. The differences in pathogenicity are attributable to the different severity of the pathological changes in the pigs inoculated with the two strains. Thus, the HP-PRRSV GDr180 strain is practically harmless to the respiratory systems of piglets and may be a safe candidate for inducing immunity against HP-PRRS.

Avian leukosis virus (ALV) subgroup J (ALV-J) is an exogenous ALV and causes myeloid leukosis in meat-type chickens. We have previously reported the isolation and identification of ALV-J in commercial layer flocks from 12 farms in northern China. In this report, we further characterized this virus by in situ polymerase chain reaction (PCR) hybridization in various affected organs of chickens from six of the 12 farms. A routine method for hybridization of nucleic acid uses radioactive probe, such as a p(32)-labelled probe. We found that the non-radioactive digoxigenin (DIG) probe is sensitive enough to detect the nucleic acid of virus in chicken tissues. We used a pair of published primers (H5/H7) specific to the gp85 envelope gene and 3' region of pol gene of prototype ALV-J strain HPRS-103. The total RNA extracted from tumour, bone marrow, oviduct, liver and spleen of the diseased chickens from six commercial flocks, and cDNA was successfully amplified. Using the primers and cDNA, we obtained an ALV-J-specific cDNA probe of 545 bp in length by PCR. In situ PCR with H5/H7 primers was carried out in the paraffin sections from tissues of the diseased chickens, followed by in situ hybridization using the DIG-labelled cDNA probe. Positive hybridization signals were detected in the cytoplasm of paraffin sections of tumours and other organ tissues. The intensity of the signals was documented using an image analysis system measuring integral optical density (IOD). The IOD values for tissue sections treated by in situ PCR hybridization are significantly higher than that by in situ hybridization alone (P < 0.01). These data taken together suggest that in situ PCR hybridization is a more sensitive technique for detection of ALV-J in tissue sections.