Clinical scoring and seroconversion for direct inoculated and co-housed ferrets.

Ferrets were inoculated intranasally with 5 x 105 PFU of indicated viruses in 0.1 mL and the sham group received 100μL PBS. Inoculation was done after isoflurane anaesthesia. Sentinels were added 1 dpi. Clinical scoring: empty cells = normal (i.e. playful and alerted), 1 = mild illness: one clinical sign (inappetence, closed eyes or reduced movement but still alert), 2 = moderate illness: two signs (and not playful), 3 = severe illness: nasal discharge, dyspnoea, sneezing, lethargy, shivering and eye closed. Serum samples collected after euthanization 10 dpi were tested after heat inactivation by ELISA. Each sample was tested twice. (DOCX)