The frequency of group A bovine rotavirus (gpA BRV) in calves from 1998 to 2002 was determined by the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique in 2177 faecal samples, of which 1898 samples were diarrhoeic and 279 were of normal consistency (control group) that were collected from asymptomatic calves for comparative purposes. The animals were from beef and dairy cattle herds (n = 321) from 158 counties in seven States (Paraná, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Goiás and Rondônia) and four Brazilian geographical regions (south, south-east, centre-west, and north). GpA BRV was detected in 19.4% (369/1898; p = 0.0001) of the samples collected in calves with diarrhoea and in only 2.2% (6/279; p = 0.0001) of the faeces with normal consistency. The proportion of positive samples collected from beef and dairy cattle herds was 22.8% (205/899; p = 0.0001) and 16.4% (169/999; p = 0.0005), respectively. In relation to age, a higher prevalence of infections was found in calves up to 30 days old, where 33.0% (189/573; p = 0.0001) and 20.2% (138/683; p = 0.0001) of the diarrhoeic faecal samples from beef and dairy cattle herds, respectively, were positive for gpA BRV. These results show the possible importance of inclusion of gpA BRV in the management of neonatal calf diarrhoea in Brazilian cattle herds.

As amostras foram agrupadas em BVDV-1 (11/19), BVDV-2 (6/19) e num terceiro grupo de amostras denominadas "atípicas" (2/ 19). Das onze amostras genotipadas como BVDV-1, oito amostras foram sub-genotipadas como BVDV-1a, enquanto que a maioria (4/6) das amostras de BVDV-2 foi agrupada como BVDV2b. Duas amostras provenientes de fetos bovinos abortados foram classificadas como atípicas, não BVDV-1 e 2. A presença da diversidade genética de BVDV detectada nas amostras estudadas pode ser responsável por falhas vacinais e de diagnóstico e deve influenciar nas estratégias de controle do BVDV aplicadas nas diferentes regiões brasileiras.TERMOS DE INDEXAÇÃO: BVDV-1, BVDV-2, Pestivirus, Brazil, análise filogenética. INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTIONInfections of cattle by bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) are widespread cause of major economic losses to the cattle industry (Houe 1999). Clinical symptoms may involve the reproductive, respiratory, immune, and gastrointestinal systems, with signs that may range from disease with high mortality rates to asymptomatic infections. The latter is observed in most cases (Pellerin et al. 1994, Ridpath et al.1994, Baker 1995, Fray et al. 2000.BVDV is an enveloped RNA virus that belongs to family Flaviviridae, genus Pestivirus. The viral positive single stranded genome of approximately 12.5 kb in size contains a single open reading frame (ORF) flanked by two non-translating terminal regions, named 5' and 3'-UTR. The single ORF is directly translated and gives rise to a long polyprotein which is co-translationally cleaved, originating 10 to 12 mature viral proteins (Collet et al. 1988, Meyer et al. 1989.Isolates have been subdivided in genotypes BVDV-1 and BVDV-2. These were further split into subgenotypes.

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Feline morbillivirus was first identified in healthy and diseased stray cats captured in Hong Kong. Recently, it was demonstrated that the virus circulates within cat populations in Japan, Italy, Germany, and the USA. Importantly, an association between feline morbillivirus infection and chronic kidney disease was suggested by histological analysis of kidney tissue of infected cats. The aim of this study was to verify the presence and examine the genetic diversity of feline morbilliviruses associated with infections of domestic cats in Brazil. Seventeen cats without clinical manifestations of urinary tract diseases from a multi-cat household and 35 random client-owned cats admitted to the Teaching Veterinary Hospital for a variety of reasons were evaluated for paramyxoviral infection and the presence of uropathy. A fragment of the paramyxoviral L gene was amplified from urine samples using a reverse transcription semi-nested PCR assay. For the first time, we detected a feline morbillivirus strain that was genetically related to viral strains previously characterized in Japan in urine samples from cats in South America, in Brazil. This together with the recent description of feline morbillivirus identification within cat populations in the USA, suggests a possible widespread distribution of this viral agent on the American continent. Our data demonstrated feline morbillivirus RNA shedding mostly in the urine of cats without clinical, laboratorial, or ultrasonographic signs of urinary tract diseases. In contrast to previously published findings that associated feline morbillivirus infection with chronic kidney disease, we did not observe a clear relationship between feline morbillivirus RNA shedding in urine and kidney disease in the cats evaluated.