Natural in utero infection of neonatal calves with bovine viral diarrhoea virus on a large dairy farm in Saudi Arabia

Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Natural in utero infection of neonatal calves with bovine viral diarrhoea virus on a large dairy farm in Saudi Arabia
 
Creator Abuelzein, Eltayb M. Al-Khaliyfa, Mofeed A. Gameel, Ahmed A.
 
Subject — Bovine viral diarrhoea; in utero; malformations; neonatal calves; pre-colostral antibodies
Description The dairy industry is a large and important business in Saudi Arabia. Although farms are administered to high international standards, some reproduction problems, of uncertain aetiology, are encountered. The most frequently seen are conception failures, abortions, stillbirths and the birth of weak or malformed calves. These conditions are suggestive of bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) infection. Unfortunately, very little published information is available regarding the impact of this disease on cattle populations in Saudi Arabia. As a consequence, the present study was carried out and is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. The aim of the study was to elucidate the role of in utero BVDV infection leading to the birth of weak or malformed calves on a large dairy farm in Saudi Arabia. The study was divided into two parts. Firstly, apparently healthy neonatal calves were sampled for the detection of pre-colostral serum antibodies to BVDV. The presence of these antibodies indicates exposure of the foetus to BVDV during the last two trimesters of gestation. Secondly, tissue samples from malformed neonatal calves were examined for the presence of BVDV antigens. Detection of such antigens confirms exposure of the foetus to the virus during the first trimester of gestation. The results of the investigation indicated that 36.1% of the neonatal calves were exposed to BVDV infection in utero. This is higher than what has been reported in the literature and suggests that dairy farmers in the Arabian Peninsula need to be made aware of the dangers of BVDV infections in their herds. The epidemiological significance of the results is discussed.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2011-11-07
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ojvr.v78i1.318
 
Source Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research; Vol 78, No 1 (2011); 4 pages 2219-0635 0030-2465
 
Language eng
 
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https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/318/368 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/318/375 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/318/369 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/318/366 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/downloadSuppFile/318/273 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/downloadSuppFile/318/275 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/downloadSuppFile/318/276 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/downloadSuppFile/318/277 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/downloadSuppFile/318/278
 
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Rights Copyright (c) 2011 Eltayb M. Abuelzein, Mofeed A. Al-Khaliyfa, Ahmed A. Gameel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
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