Detection and Isolation of Bovine Immunodeficiency‐like Virus (BIV) in Dairy Herds of Costa Rica

Abstract

Summary Serological (Western blot) detection of bovine immunodeficiency‐like virus (BIV) in Holstein dairy herds is reported in Costa Rica for the first time, as well as the isolation of the virus, from a seropositive bovine, by cocultivation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with embryonic rabbit epithelial (EREp) cells. The isolated strain, BIV CR1, reacted similarly in Western blot as the reference strain BIV R29 and is clearly distinguishable from bovine leukaemia virus (BLV). The data suggest an association between BIV infections and BLV infections, as it has been reported elsewhere. From these results it can be concluded that BIV is present in Costa Rica and it is suggested that these viral infections will probably follow the epidemiological parameters of BLV infections in Costa Rica, reaching high infection rates in dairy herds.

Comparison of Different PCR Tests to Detect Bovine Lentivirus in Cell Culture and Experimentally and Naturally Infected Cattle

“…8,10,15 Virus isolation of BIV from naturally infected cattle remains difficult, with only 3 reported virus isolations. 2,11,13 Viral diagnosis by PCR has been shown to be a sensitive diagnostic test in other viral systems, and although 5 PCR tests have been published for the detection of BIV, their sensitivity and specificity have not been compared. 5,6,10 The purpose of this paper is to provide a comparison among the currently described PCR tests with standardization of some of the PCR conditions.…”

Seroprevalence of Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus and Bovine Leukemia Virus in Dairy and Beef Cattle in Hokkaido.

“…Since its recognitions as a lentivirus in the late 1980s, seroepidemiological evidence indicates that BIV infection has a worldwide distribution. Serological surveys have shown the presence of seropositive cattle in the USA [23], Canada [11], the Netherlands [10], New Zealand [9], Germany [17], France [20], Great Britain [21], Japan [12], Costa Rica [8], Italy [3], Australia [5], Korea [4], in water buffalo in Pakistan [15], in draught animal in Cambodia [13], Indonesia [1] and Brazil [14]. However, conclusive evidence that BIV causes immunodeficiency in cattle has not been established.…”

Bovine immunodeficiency virus and analogies with human immunodeficiency virus

“…Besides in the USA and Great Britain seropositive cattle were detected wherever a number of cattle was checked by various laboratory tests (ELISA, Western blot, focus immunoassay, PCR), for example in Holland (Horzinek et al, 1991), Australia (Forman et al, 1992), Germany (Muluneh, 1994), Canada (Jacobs et al, 1995), Costa Rica (Hidalgo et al, 1995) and France (Polack et al, 1996). But no isolations were reported by these laboratories.…”