bovis - Articles
Bovine leukaemia virus
Synonym(s): deltaretrovirus, enzootic bovine leukosis, EBL
Introduction
Classification
Taxonomy
- Family: retroviridae.
- Subfamily: orthoretrovirinae.
- Genus: deltaretrovirus.
- Species: bovine leukemia virus.
- Etymology:
- Latin: ‘retro’- backwards. This makes reference to the presence of a reverse transcriptase enzyme in the virus particle which translates viral RNA into double-stranded DNA.
Distribution
- Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) has worldwide distribution, but prevalence widely varies.
- The UK has been free of infection since 1996.
- It is predicted that 40% of all dairy cattle in the United States are infected with the virus.
- BLV is extremely prevalent in North America. 84% of N American herds have been reported to be infected.
Significance
- BLV is a causative agent of enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL), the most common neoplastic (tumor-forming) disease of cattle.
- BLV results in immunosuppression and so the true financial costs of this disease may be very significant, but hard to assess.
- Studies by Michigan State University’s BLV research team suggest that approximately $520 million dollars are lost in the US due reduced milk production and shorter life spans of BLV-infected cows (2017).
- BLV positive animals have a decreased response to vaccines and so may be more vulnerable to other diseases.
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Resting Forms
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Clinical Effects
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Diagnosis
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Further Reading
Publications
Refereed Papers
- Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
- Meas S, Usui T, Ohashi K, Sugimoto C & Onuma M (2002) Vertical transmission of bovine leukemia virus and bovine immunodeficiency virus in dairy cattle herds. Vet Microbiol 84 (3), 275-82 PubMed.
- Hopkins S G & DiGiacomo R F (1997) Natural transmission of bovine leukemia virus in dairy and beef cattle. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract 13 (1), 107-28 PubMed.
- Pelzer K D (1997) Economics of bovine leukemia virus infection. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract 13 (1), 129-41 PubMed.
- Rodríguez S M, Florins A, Gillet N et al (2011) Preventive and Therapeutic Strategies for Bovine Leukaemia Virus: Lessons for HTLV. Viruses 3 (7), 1210-1248 PubMed.
- MC Frie, KR Sporer, OJ Benitez, JC Wallace, CJ Droscha, PC Bartlett, PM Coussens (2017) Dairy cows naturally infected with bovine leukemia virus (BLV) exhibit abnormal B and T cell phenotypes after primary and secondary exposure to keyhole limpet hemocyanin, Frontiers in Veterinary Science 4,112.
- MC Frie, KR Sporer, JC Wallace, RK Maes, LM Sordillo, PC Bartlett, PM Coussens (2016), Reduced humoral immunity and atypical cell-mediated immunity in response to vaccination in cows naturally infected with bovine leukemia virus Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 182, 125–135.
Other sources of information
Organisation(s)
- APHA.
- OIE.