Seroprevalence of bovine viral diarrhoea virus, bovine herpesvirus 1 and bovine leukaemia virus in Iranian cattle and associations among studied agents

Abstract

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV1) and bovine leukaemia virus (BLV) are among the most important pathogens of dairy cattle which cause significant economic burden around the world. The aim of this study was to investigate seroprevalence and concurrent presence of antibodies against BVDV, BoHV1 and BLV in dairy cattle in Iran. A total of 882 animals were sampled and the presence of antibodies against BVDV, BoHV1 and BLV was determined by commercial Enzyme link immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. The overall BVDV, BoHV1 and BLV seroprevalence was 64.4%, 31.9% and 16.2%, respectively. The prevalence of antibodies against mentioned pathogens varied among different provinces studied. In addition, no correlation was observed between BLV seropositivity and either BVDV or BoHV1 seropositivity while there was a positive correlation between BVDV and BoHV1 seropositivity (P < 0.01). The results of the current study revealed that BVDV, BoHV1 and BLV infections are present in different regions of Iran and thus it seems necessary to implement control programmes to prevent further spread of mentioned pathogens. Moreover, it was demonstrated that a previous infection with either BVDV or BoHV1 might be a risk factor for future infection with BoHV1 or BVDV, respectively.