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The prevalence of antibody to the viruses of bovine virus diarrhoea, bovine herpes virus 1, rift valley fever, ephemeral fever and bluetongue and to Leptospira sp in free-ranging wildlife in Zimbabwe.

The prevalence of antibody to the viruses of bovine virus diarrhoea (BVD), bovine herpes virus typel (BHV1), rift valley fever (RVF), bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) and bluetongue (BT) and to Leptospira sp. was determined in wildlife populations in Zimbabwe. Evidence of infection with BVD virus was found in 14 of the 16 species examined but was greatest in eland Taurotragus oryx, nyala Tragelaphus angasi and bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus. Persistent infection with BVD virus was found in 1 of 303 antibody-free eland but not in the smaller sample of 102 antibody-free buffalo Syncerus caffer. Antibody to BHV1 was widespread, being found in 10 of 16 species with the highest prevalence being in buffalo and eland. Antibody to RVF was most prevalent in black rhino Diceros bicornis and white rhino Ceratotherium simum, buffalo and waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus. Both BEF and BT were widespread in all the species examined. Evidence of infection with Leptospira sp. was found in 7 species. Infections were due to up to 3 of 8 different serovars.

Animals↗

Bovine ephemeral fever.

Ephemeral fever remains a viral disease of considerable importance to many countries including Australia. The virus has been only partly characterised and still awaits final classification. Although BEF virus was first thought to contain 6 structural proteins there is increasing evidence to suggest that it contains the 5 proteins characteristic of the Rhabdoviridae. Although BEF is thought to be arthropod borne, the vector has yet to be identified but it is clear from the distribution of BEF that more than one vector is capable of transmitting the disease. Despite rigorous investigation of the clinical signs and the pathology of ephemeral fever, little progress has been made on the pathogenesis of the disease. This has been partly due to the difficulty of propagating BEF virus in vitro and the inability to define the site of replication. However, there is mounting evidence to suggest that BEF is immunopathologic in nature and that the clinical expression of the disease is influenced by the release of one or more mediators of inflammation. The disease is characterised by a number of haematological and biochemical changes and early and prolonged treatment with phenylbutazone is capable of reversing a number of these changes. The intravenous administration of calcium can now be considered a justifiable addition to the treatment regimen together with prolonged phenylbutazone therapy. The vaccines currently available are prepared from either live attenuated or killed virus and may be less than reliable. There appears to be a need for a reliable, inexpensive, cold-chain independent alternative vaccine.

Animals↗

DNA sequence analysis of glycoprotein G gene of bovine ephemeral fever virus and development of a double oil emulsion vaccine against bovine ephemeral fever.

The surface glycoprotein G is considered as the major neutralizing and protective antigen of bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV). Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of G protein of BEFV isolates during the period 1984-2004 outbreaks in Taiwan showed amino acid substitutions in the neutralizing epitopes. All the isolates differ markedly in the neutralizing epitope at the same amino acid positions compared to the currently available killed vaccine strain (Tn73). Tn88128 strain isolated in 1999 showed the maximum variability of 12 amino acids, 5 amino acid in the neutralization epitope and 7 apart from, respectively. Combinations of both Tn88128 (1999) and commercially available vaccine strain (Tn73) were developed and its safety was evaluated in mice, guinea pigs, calves, and pregnant cows. None of the animals showed any adverse effect or clinical signs. Calves were immunized with commercial vaccine (Tn73) and, combined vaccine (Tn73 and Tn88128), respectively, with adjuvants such as Al-gel and water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) oil and PBS alone and challenged with Tn88128 strains. Except PBS administered animals, all the vaccinated animals showed protective immune response. However, animals immunized with combined vaccine plus w/o/w adjuvant elicited stronger neutralization antibodies and long lasting immunity compared to other vaccines.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Bovine ephemeral fever: a review.

Bovine ephemeral fever is a viral disease of cattle and buffaloes besides subclinical involvement of a variety of ruminant species. The subtropical and temperate regions of Africa, Asia and Australia have experienced the major epidemic of the bovine ephemeral fever but the occurrence in the tropics can not be overlooked. Although the substantial role played by the vectors viz., mosquitoes and culicoides in bovine ephemeral fever perpetuation and dissemination, other vector involvement if any should be extensively studied. The clinical severity of the disease is not apparent and the mortality is low. However, high morbidity, enormous economic losses in terms of significant reduction in production, disruption of national and international trade and finally a variety of complications resulting from the disease have drawn appreciable attention from the researchers around the world to resolve the unsolved questions in this area. In this review, detailed informations of all the aspects of the disease has been provided in a simple, lucid and easily understandable manner.

Animals↗

Field trials of ephemeral fever vaccines.

Various bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) vaccines were tested between 1982 and 1984 in 24 Queensland herds; neutralising antibody responses were monitored and six of the herds were closely observed following natural challenge with ephemeral fever. A vaccine regime of two consecutive vaccinations with attenuated virus combined with the adjuvant Quil A provided excellent protection against BEF for at least 12 months, whereas one vaccination with the Quil A vaccine or two vaccinations with vaccine containing the adjuvant aluminium hydroxide gel did not provide significant protection. Antibody responses were highest for the vaccine incorporating Quil A when it was given as two consecutive injections. There was an apparent relationship between neutralising antibody response and the level of protection.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Serological and biochemical factors in bovine ephemeral fever.

Clinical signs of ephemeral fever, which were observed in individual cattle during two successive epidemics in 1973 and 1976, were related to biochemical, cellular and serological changes in the blood. The rise in peripheral blood neutrophil counts in samples collected from 12 sentinel cattle on a daily basis before, during and after natural disease in the two epidemics to mean peaks of 9.6-12.5 X 10(9) per litre, and fall in counts of lymphocytes to a trough of 5-7 X 10(9) per litre was found to occur on the same day as the fever peak. A fall in serum calcium levels from a normal mean of 2.55 mmol/l to 2.0 mmol/l occurred on the day clinical signs were most pronounced. Serum magnesium levels were affected to only a minor degree. Plasma fibrinogen rose from a normal mean of 5.0 milligrams to a peak of 18 milligrams on the second day of disease and fell towards normal in the week after recovery. Neutralizing antibodies to bovine ephemeral fever virus were detected up to 63 days prior to clinical disease, and the rise of antibody after recovery was secondary in pattern. Serological evidence of a prior infection with an antigenically related virus, Kimberley virus, was found in these animals. In more severe clinical cases of ephemeral fever serum calcium levels were as low as 1.95 mmol/l. Treatment of cattle showing clinical signs of the disease with phenylbutazone and calcium borogluconate was favourable.

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Preliminary studies of the complement fixation test to confirm the diagnosis of bovine ephemeral fever.

A strain of bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) virus isolated in China in 1976 was adapted to growth in tissue cultures. A baby hamster kidney complement fixing (CF) antigen, stable at -20 degrees C for at least 120 days, was prepared from the BEF virus grown in tissue culture and used to test bovine sera for antibodies to that virus. CF antibodies were detected in all of 31 cattle after convalescence from experimental infection with BEF virus, in 208 (98%) of 213 cattle observed to have shown clinical ephemeral fever in an epidemic, in 96 cattle in these herds which did not show clinical signs of ephemeral fever and 16 cattle from herds in northern China outside the epidemic area. The CF antibodies to BEF virus were found to persist in 34 (89%) of 38 cattle which were bled 6 years after natural exposure to ephemeral fever. The CF antigen is economical to prepare and is suitable to differentiate ephemeral fever from other viral infections with which it could possibly be confused on clinical appearance.

Animals↗

Observations on the epidemiology of ephemeral fever in Kenya.

Ephemeral fever antibody was found in domestic cattle in Kenya across a wide range of ecological zones, from highland forests and grasslands to desert and semidesert thorn scrub. Antibody was found in several species of game animals, notably waterbuck and buffalo, where over 50% of the samples showed antibody to EF. Evidence was obtained to show that the virus had been cycling in these wild ruminant populations between epizootics in domestic cattle.

Animals↗

Laboratory and field studies with a bovine ephemeral fever vaccine.

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) virus vaccines, prepared from the brains of suckling mice infected with strain 525 BEF virus, were evaluated in housed cattle and in the field. The virus in lyophilised preparations was stable for 6 months at -50 degrees C. Thirty-four calves, 5 to 18 months old, were used in laboratory vaccination trials. An increase in serum neutralising antibody was detected in 13 of 14 calves initially free of serum antibody, and all 13 failed to develop clinical illness following challenge with virulent BEF virus. Vaccination resulted in no detectable serum antibody increase in 4 calves, 5 months old, with pre-existing antibody of presumed maternal origin. Seven animals, 18 months of age with serum antibody presumed due to previous BEF infection, developed increased antibody titres following vaccination. In 3 animals vaccinated but not challenged, vaccine-induced antibodies decreased to low levels over 5 months. In contrast, the antibody titres following infection with virulent virus in 2 calves were maintained over 5 months. Field trials, involving 236 animals initially free of serum antibody, were conducted on 5 properties near Mackay and 4 properties near Brisbane. Most of 164 animals were vaccinated with a single dose of lyophilised vaccine containing aluminium hydroxide adjuvant. Only 4 animals failed to develop serum antibody and no adverse reactions to vaccination were reported. Natural infection with BEF occurred in 4 herds at Mackay and clinically mild BEF occurred in 3 of 109 vaccinated and 3 of 46 control animals. On the basis of measured serum antibody titres it was assumed that 8 of 53 animals receiving full vaccine volume, 20 of 40 animals receiving half vaccine volume and 18 of 40 control animals became infected with BEF virus. Two dairy herds in Brisbane became naturally infected with virulent BEF virus 7 months after vaccination. Clinical BEF was observed in 8 of 11 control animals and in 3 of 26 animals which received 2 doses of vaccine. Two strains of BEF virus were isolated from unvaccinated animals that developed clinically mild BEF in the field. These strains either failed to infect, or produced subclinical or very mild BEF, when inoculated intravenously into susceptible calves. The anitbody response to natural infection with apparently mild viruses was short-lived, similar to that produced by vaccination.

Animals↗

The role of neutrophils in bovine ephemeral fever virus infection of cattle.

Bovine ephemeral fever is a rhabdoviral disease characterized by a pronounced neutrophilia and an influx of neutrophils into serosae and serosal fluids. Studies were undertaken on the effect of bovine ephemeral fever virus infection of cattle with an induced neutropenia. An equine antiserum to bovine neutrophils was produced using neutrophils derived from a bovine udder. This antiserum was used to deplete circulating neutrophils in three calves that were infected with virulent bovine ephemeral fever virus. The calves became viremic without developing clinical signs and without developing detectable antibodies to bovine ephemeral fever virus. Three months later, after restoration of blood neutrophil levels to normal values, two of these calves were again infected with virulent bovine ephemeral fever virus. Both calves developed viremia, clinical disease, and serum-neutralizing antibodies to bovine ephemeral fever virus.

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Bovine ephemeral fever in Taiwan.

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is a vector-borne disease of cattle, spanning tropical and subtropical zones of Asia, Australia, and Africa, caused by Ephemerovirus of the Rhabdoviridae. Taiwan has had 3 BEF epizootics, occurring in 1989, 1996, and 1999, since the vaccination regimen was initiated in 1984, given once a year in the spring with a single-dose formaldehyde-inactivated vaccine using the 1983 isolate as the seed virus. This study evaluated the 1999 population immunity against BEF virus in Taiwanese dairy cows with a neutralization test and whether the recent BEF virus isolates have mutated significantly from the vaccine virus. In March 1999, before vaccination, 94% of the animals studied were already seropositive, suggestive of an endemic or persistent infection from the previous year. By June 1999, when 51% of herds had been vaccinated, the antibody level rose, and by September 1999, the serum-neutralizing antibody (SNA) level fell to a minimum, preceding the outbreak of BEF in October 1999, during which the antibody levels of vaccinated cows continued to decline while those of unvaccinated cows rose sharply. The results suggest that, in 1999, vaccine-induced immunity was partially protective against BEE Because the current single-dose vaccination regimen resulted in minimal population immunity by September, a booster vaccination given in late summer may be advisable for future disease control. Analysis of the glycoprotein gene of Taiwanese isolates between 1983 and 1999 showed a 97.4-99.6% homology, with an alteration of 4 amino acids in antigenic sites G1, G3b, and G3c. Phylogenetic analysis of Taiwanese isolates revealed at least 2 distinct clusters: the 1983-1989 isolates and the 1996-1999 isolates. Both were distinct from 2 Japanese strains and the Australian BB7721 strain. Thus, at least 2 distinct BEF viruses, which had diverged before 1983, existed in Taiwanese dairy cows.

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Studies on the pathogenesis of bovine ephemeral fever. IV: A comparison with the inflammatory events in milk fever of cattle.

The study of ephemeral fever in cattle has defined a range of haematological and biochemical changes in blood which are characteristic of an inflammatory response. One of the clinical signs of ephemeral fever, a temporary paralysis reversible by treatment with calcium borogluconate, is similar to that in milk fever (parturient paresis), a disease of multiparous dairy cows. Three separate groups of cows were studied. Four multiparous cows were observed and sampled repeatedly during calving, three similar cows and one cow calving for the first time in a dairy herd were sampled daily before and after calving; and, in other dairy herds, seven cows with milk fever were sampled during illness. One of the cows under repeated observation during calving developed milk fever. The results showed that all the inflammatory indicators in blood were present in the multiparous cows at calving and that these were essentially similar to those established in ephemeral fever. The similarities in the four cows sampled repeatedly during the periparturient period were: a rectal temperature rise of 1 to 1.2 degrees C; rise in circulating neutrophils to peaks between 5700 and 11200 l-6; disappearance of eosinophils for 1 day; hypocalcaemia (plasma Ca < 2.0 mM l-1); fall of plasma zinc to low levels immediately after calving (plasma Zn < 500 micrograms l-1); fall of inorganic phosphate (plasma P < 0.9 mM l-1); rises in copper (plasma Cu > 1000 micrograms l-1) and plasma fibrin to > 8.75 g l-1. Plasma glucose peaked at calving between 5.7 and 8.9 mM l-1 then fell to levels ranging between 3.4 and 3.8 mM l-1. Plasma iron rose in one cow to 1220 micrograms l-1, was unchanged in one cow and fell in the other two to 440 and 860 micrograms l-1 respectively. The three multiparous cows which were sampled daily and calved normally showed similar haematological, macro and micromineral changes and fibrin response as did the seven milk fever cases. In the periparturient period, milk fever cows differed from multiparous cows calving normally, in degree but not in kind, of inflammatory response. It is postulated that an inflammatory event occurs in the periparturient period of multiparous cows which partially accounts for the falls in plasma calcium. This can precipitate a paralysis and other hypocalcaemic signs similar to that seen in acute ephemeral fever.

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Akabane and bovine ephemeral fever virus infections.

Akabane and bovine ephemeral fever viruses are exotic to the American continent. Both viruses are spread by insect vectors, and each causes disease of varying severity in food-producing animals. However, there are few other similarities between the agents and the diseases that they cause. They do not share the same insect vectors, the mammalian host range is different, and the clinical manifestations of virus infection vary markedly. Akabane virus is a cause of severe congenital defects, but adult animals show no signs of infection. In contrast, bovine ephemeral fever virus causes a febrile illness affecting mainly mature animals. If introduced to North America, it is probable that there would be significant economic losses, at least until endemic virus transmission patterns were established. Subsequently, it is likely that there would be patterns of alternate disease outbreaks followed by interepidemic periods in which there is a minor clinical effect.

Animal Diseases↗

Preliminary observations on the epidemiology of bovine ephemeral fever in China.

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is a viral disease of cattle and water buffalo recognised for the first time in China in 1955. The disease has been endemic in south China with 13 epidemics since 1955, seven epidemics reaching central China and one extending into north-east China (40 degrees N). The outbreaks have been seasonal with all occurring in the warmer summer/autumn months of June to October when possible insect vectors are active. Reports of clinical disease were confirmed as BEF by the detection of virus-neutralising antibody. The economic impact of the disease includes loss of milk production, late-term abortions and the loss of draught animal power.

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