EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION OF BUCKS AND PREGNANT DOES WITH BOVINE HERPESVIRUS-4

ESSMAIL, MOHAMED E.; BAKER, DELL C.; VANDEWOUDE, SOE; COLLINS, JAMES; SALMAN, MOWAFK; HEGAZY, ALI A.; WAHBAH, MOHAMED A.

doi:10.21608/ejar.2001.320959

EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION OF BUCKS AND PREGNANT DOES WITH BOVINE HERPESVIRUS-4

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Animal Reproduction Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, Ministry of Agricultural, Giza, Egypt

² College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO., USA.

³ Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

10.21608/ejar.2001.320959

Abstract

Fifty-six does were inoculated with bovine herpesvirus-4 (BHV-4) or normal cell culture fluid by intravaginal (groups 1 & 2, early gestation) or intravenous routes (groups 3 & 4, late gestation). Forty bucks were inoculated with BHV-4 or normal cell culture fluid by intratesticular (groups 5 & 6) or intravenous (groups 7 & 8) routes. Clinical signs following inoculation of the virus in does included abortion in 2 pregnant does, decreased conception rate (25% conception rate in group 1 vs. 41.66% conception rate in control group 2), and mild vaginitis (2124, group 1). No clinical signs were observed with viral infection in bucks. Microscopic lesions included marked placentilis, mild suppurative end*. metritis, moderate multifocal endometrial hemorrhages, endometrial oedema, oophoritis, mesenteric lymph node hyperplasia, and mild multifocal necrotizing hepatitis. Histopathological examination of intratesticularly inoculated rabbits revealed mild to moderate interstitial lymphocytic and acute necrotizing orchitis. with segmental to diffuse testicular degeneration, and mild interstitial oedema. The virus was isolated from one testicle of inoculated rabbit. Viral antigen was detected by immunohistochemistry only in the mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen in infected does, but virus was not isolated. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detected BHV-4 genome in two bucks. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed viral nucleocapsids in the uterus, vagina, spleen, and mesenteric lymph nodes of infected does and in the testis, spleen and mesenteric lymph node of infected bucks. Gross, microscopic, TEM, PCR, and immunohistochemical examination of tissues suggested that BHV-4 had a mild pathogenic role in bucks inoculated intratesticularly.

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