Excretion of alcelaphine herpesvirus-1 by captive and free-living wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)

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Authors

Barnard, B.J.H.
Bengis, Roy G.
Griessel, M.D.
De Vos, Valerius

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Published by the Government Printer, Pretoria.

Abstract

Excretion of alcelaphine herpesvirus-1 (AHV-1) is for all practical purposes limited to wildebeest calves under the age of 4 months. Sixty-one per cent of calves 1-2 months of age excreted virus with a mean titre of 9,8 x 10⁴ cytopathic-forming foci/ml in their ocular fluid. The incidence declined sharply to less than 2% in wildebeest older than 6 months. No difference in age-related excretion of virus could be detected between free-living and captive wildebeest and no virus could be isolated from free-living pregnant wildebeest cows or from captive cows and their calves during the first 4 weeks after birth. The occurrence of wildebeest-derived malignant catarrhal fever (WD MCF) during spring, when wildebeest do not excrete virus, is a strong indication of the existence of an alternative host or an intermediate host capable of biological transfer of AHV-1.

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Keywords

Veterinary medicine

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Barnard, BJH, Bengis, RG, Griessel, MD & De Vos, V 1989, 'Excretion of alcelaphine herpesvirus-1 by captive and free-living wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)', Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 131-134.