Cultivation of virus

There are several ways to cultivate viruses. Some of the ways are:
• Animal
• Cell culture
• Embryonated eggs
• Plants

Animal Cultivation
Animals and eggs are the first method used for virus cultivation. Suitable living mammals are chosen for cultivation of viruses. Only healthy animal that are free from any communicable disease are selected. The specific virus then can be introduced into the healthy animals. Examples of animal selected for virus cultivation are chimpanzees, mouse, sheep and rabbits. The animals are then slaughtered at the end of incubation period and are washed thoroughly and viruses are obtained from them. However, this method are inconvenient, it also concerns the safety in handling animals and animal rights.


Cell Culture

Primary cell cultures come directly from the animal and are not subcultured. The younger the source animal, the longer the cell will survive in culture. They typically consist of a mixture of cell types, such as muscle and epithelial cells. Although such cells usually do not divide more than a few times, they support growth of a wide variety of viruses.

If primary cell cultures are repeatedly subcultured, one cell type will become dominant, and the culture is called a cell strain.

Among the most widely used cell strains are diploid fibroblast strains. Fibroblast are immature cells that produce collagen and other fibres as we as the substance of connective tissues such as the dermis of the skin.

The third type of cell culture in extensive use is the continuous cell line. A continuous cell line consists of cells that will reproduce for an extended number of generations. The cells are immortal, fast-growing but require only simple media. These cells have undergone transformation and have great chromosomal instability as well as divergence of phenotype.