Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV): A review

Abstract

Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) infection is the major cause of respiratory disease in calves during the first year of life. The study of the virus has been difficult because of its lability and very poor growth in cell culture. However, during the last decade , the introduction of new immunological and biotechnological techniques has facilitated a more extensive study of BRSV as illustrated by the increasing number of paper s published. Despite this growing focus, many aspects of the pathogenesis, epidem iology, immunology etc. remain obscure. The course and outcome ofthe infection is very complex and unpredictable which makes the diagnosis and subsequent therapy very difficult. BRSV is closely related to human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) which is an important cause of respiratory disease in young children. In contrast to BRSV, the recent knowledge of HRSV is regularly extensively reviewed in several books and journals. The present paper contains an updated review on BRSV covering most aspects of the structure , molecular biology, pathogenesis, pathology, clinical features , epidemiology, diagnosi s and immunology based on approximately 140 references from international research journals.

Immunoglobulin Y for Potential Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications in Infectious Diseases

“…Bovine respiratory syncytial virus is a pneumovirus in the Paramyxovirus family that afflicts young calves and is difficult to diagnose and treat due to its lability and poor growth in cell culture ( 107 ). However, IgY against bovine respiratory syncytial virus specifically recognized and neutralized the virus in vitro when analyzed in dot blot and virus neutralization assays ( 108 ).…”

Development of a 1-Step Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the Rapid Diagnosis of Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Postmortem Specimens

“…The clinical signs of BRSV infection are associated with pulmonary localization of the virus, which is mainly in the cranio-ventral lobe of the lung 16 , 20 . BRSV infection causes severe respiratory signs in young cattle and frequently leads to the death of the infected animal 2 , 11 , 17 , 19 , 20 . BRSV infection is widespread and has a major economic impact.…”

Evaluation of a Commercial Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Kit for the Diagnosis of Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection

“…Although clinical signs may raise the suspicion of BRSV infection, laboratory confirmation is needed to make a definitive diagnosis 1 . In diagnostic laboratories, direct BRSV detection in clinical samples, such as nasal swab samples, transtracheal aspiration samples, and lung tissues, is currently carried out by antigen detection (fluorescent antibody test [FAT] or immunohistochemistry) or virus isolation 1,5,10 . These laboratory techniques demonstrate poor sensitivity due to low viral titers shed or lability of the BRSV 8,13 .…”

“…It can guarantee transferability of the technique to diagnostic laboratories and standard quality of the materials and reagents supplied. However, to interpret the results of this kit in a defined meaning in terms of diagnosis, it is necessary 1) to know its performance 20 (i.e., efficiency, detection limit, sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility) and 2) to compare its results with those of commonly used techniques 20 in diagnostic laboratories, such as FAT, which is the most commonly used method to detect BRSV in clinical samples 10 . The objective of the current study was, therefore, to evaluate the performance of the commercial real-time RT-PCR kit a in comparison with FAT on clinical samples.…”