Ultrastructural characterization and hepatic pathogenesis of duck plague virus.

Six-week-old white Pekin ducks were inoculated intravenously with duck plague virus (DPV) isolated from wild waterfowl. The virus replicated in hepatic macrophages, hepatocytes, and bile duct epithelium. In ultrathin sections, herpes-like nucleocapsids and virions were found respectively in the nucleus and cytoplasm of infected cells. Typical herpesviral capsids and virions were seen in negatively-stained preparations of duck embryo fibroblasts. Antibodies against Holland-attenuated strain of DPV reacted with virions of this isolate.