[Comparative characteristics of the biological properties of small ruminant lentiviruses].

The infections caused by small ruminant lentiviruses include diseases, such as Maedi-Visna (MV) and caprine arthritis-encephalitis (CAE). According to phylogenetic findings and their common origination, small ruminant lentiviruses were divided into Groups A, B, C, D, and E. Cultivation of the lentiviruses displayed the cytopathic effect of the CAE virus strain 75 G-63 in the primary culture of goatling synovial membrane cells, which was shown by monolayer destruction and polynuclear cell formation; this was uncharacteristic for M-88, K-796, and Tverskoy strains. A high homology was found for the Tverskoy strain with Group B small ruminant lentiviruses and the M-88 and K-796 strains with their Group A.