Observations on outbreaks of respiratory disease in calves associated with parainfluenza type 3 virus and respiratory syncytial virus infection

In four outbreaks of indoor calf pneumonia, dyspnoea was a prominent clinical finding. At necropsy it was associated with pneumonia involving the cranial lobes of the lung and severe pulmonary emphysema. Histological examination of lung tissue revealed bronchiolitis and alveolitis with alveolar epithelial cell hyperplasia and multinucleate syncytium formation. Intraalveolar haemorrhage, intra-alveolar oedema and hyaline membrane formation were also noted. In all cases parainfluenza type 3 (PI3) virus was isolated from the lungs. In each of the four outbreaks there was evidence of PI3 virus and respiratory syncitial virus (RSV) infection.