Comparative susceptibility of vero and baby hamster kidney cell lines to PPR virus

This study was undertaken to assess the comparative susceptibility of the different cell lines to PPRV using virus isolation by Vero and BHK cell lines from field samples. The inoculated BHK and Vero cells supported the growth of the virus with syncytia formation more commonly observed in the BHK cells while vacuolation and cell disintegration were more marked in Vero cells. When the virus was passaged from Vero cells to Vero cells, the CPE occurred on the fourth day while passaging from Vero cells to BHK cells, revealed CPE in three days. The onset of CPE and its pattern was earlier and more prominent in BHK than in Vero cells. This could be due to species difference in the origin of the two cell lines and the receptors for attachment and replication. As BHK cell line was not routinely used for primary isolation, results obtained in this study showed that the virus titres obtained are usually higher, the CPE produced clearer, and the onset ofCPE development shorter hence it can the be good for primary isolation of PPRV.