Bovine Epizootic Fever

Abstract

A virus, the Yamaguchi strain, was serially propagated in suckling hamsters, mice and rats, and hamster kidney BHK21-W12 cells from a natural case in the 1966 outbreak of bovine epizootic fever, an acute febrile disease of cattle, resembling ephemeral fever, known in Japan since 1949. An acute phase blood from the natural case was first passaged in calves by intravenous inoculation, and a blood specimen at the second passage was used to initiate serial hamster passage. Infected hamsters died with nervous symptoms, and serial passage was readily accomplished by intracerebral inoculation with brain emulsions. The hamster passage line of virus was serially passaged by intracerebral inoculation in 1-or 2-day-old mice, and then in rats 1 or 2 days after birth, which developed fatal encephalitis. The hamster passage virus was also serially propagated with cytopathic effect in cultures of BHK21-WI2 cell cultures. These viral lines were shown to be neutralized by, and to produce specific complement-fixing antigen reactive with, convalescent sera of calves infected with the original Yamaguchi strain, confirming the identity of these lines as the Yamaguchi strain. The hamster passage line, when inoculated intravenously in calves, induced an acute febrile illness which was similar to bovine epizootic fever; all the inoculated calves had viremia and developed neutralizing and complement-fixing antibodies against the virus. Serological evidence for infection with this virus was obtained in natural cases in the 1966 outbreak. These findings seem to justify this virus to be the causative agent of bovine epizootic fever.

Serological and Biochemical Factors in Bovine Ephemeral Fever

“…The close observation that the sentinel groups were under disclosed that there were early, almost imperceptible, clinical signs which could be reliably detected only by an observer completely familiar with the cattle and that these signs were accompanied by fever. The characteristic signs of ephemeral fever developed later, and were consistent with those which have been previously reported by various workers (Seddon 1938;Mackerras et al 1940;van der Westhuizen 1967;Inaba 1968;Snowdon 1971).…”

Epidemiology of bovine ephemeral fever virus infection in Taiwan

“…Outbreaks of BEF have been reported in 35-12-2 South Africa, Kenya, India, Australia and Japan since early 1900s (Burgess 1971, Davis et al 1975, Inaba 1968, Morgan and Murray 1969, Murray 1970, Standfast et al 1976. Ephemeral fever, three-day-sickness, stiff sickness, bovine epizootic fever and bovine influenza have been used to name this viral disease in the different countries at different times (Chiu 1986, Chiu and Lu 1986, Lin and Inoue 1969, St. George 1981.…”

Endemic and Emerging Arboviruses in Domestic Ruminants in East Asia

“…Old records indicated that epidemics of BEF occurred in the central and western parts of Japan in the late nineteenth century (15). Between 1949 and 1951, ∼700,000 cases and 10,000 deaths were reported in the same region (16). The disease was initially called "bovine epizootic fever, " but the etiological virus was later identified as BEFV based on the serological relationship between the Japanese isolate and BEFVs isolated in Australia and South Africa (17).…”