Barnard, B.J.H.Bengis, Roy G.Griessel, M.D.De Vos, ValeriusVerwoerd, Daniel Wynand2014-09-302014-09-3020141989Barnard, 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. 131-134.0330-2465http://hdl.handle.net/2263/42152The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.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.en©ARC - Onderstepoort and Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria (original). ©University of Pretoria. Dept. of Library Services (digital).Veterinary medicineVeterinary medicine -- South AfricaArticle