New study on swine influenza virus may be relevant to influenza, coronavirus infection in humans

A new study carried out in pig cells suggests previous infection with swine influenza virus (SIV) can protect against the development of porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCoV) if there is a zero- or three-day interval between infections. The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Virulence, may also be relevant to influenza and coronavirus infection in humans. Ju-Yi Peng of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover and colleagues used air liquid interface cultures of cells taken from pigs’ windpipes to investigate the interactions between the two viruses. They found that prior infection by swine influenza virus completely inhibited coronavirus infection when the cells were infected on the same day or three days apart. By contrast, infecting cells with coronavirus then swine influenza virus had little effect on the replication of swine influenza virus. This difference may be explained – at least in part – by the difference in the range of cells each of the two...