Clinical and virological dynamics of a serotype O 2010 South East Asia lineage foot-and-mouth disease virus in sheep using natural and simulated natural inoculation and exposure systems

Within-host infection dynamics of a recent field isolate of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), serotype O, topotype South East Asia, lineage Myamar'98 were evaluated in sheep using four different systems for virus exposure. Two novel, simulated natural, inoculation systems consisting of intra-nasopharyngeal (INP) deposition and aerosol inoculation were evaluated in comparison with two conventional systems: coronary band inoculation and direct contact exposure. All four exposure systems were efficient in generating consistently severe, generalized FMD with synchronous clinical characteristics within exposure groups, indicating that this Myanmar98 strain is highly virulent in sheep. Clinical and virological dynamics were similarly rapid following INP- and coronary band inoculation, with both systems leading to significantly earlier detection of virus shedding when compared to aerosol inoculation and contact exposure. The data presented herein support application of the two optimized simulated natural inoculation systems as valid alternatives to conventionally used exposure systems for studies of FMDV pathogenesis and vaccinology in sheep. Furthermore, the data suggest that targeted exposure of the ovine pharynx is highly efficient for generating consistent FMDV infection, which supports critical involvement of this anatomic region as a site of primary virus replication in sheep.