BOVINE RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS SEROPREVALENCE STUDY IN BOVINE AND NON-BOVINE SPECIES OF AGRICULTURAL IMPORTANCE IN ARGENTINA

ALEJANDRA FERELLA; MARINA VALERIA MOZGOVOJ; MARIA JOSE DUS SANTOS

DUBLIN

Congreso; WORLD BUIATRICS CONGRESS; 2016

Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (bRSV) is the main causative agent of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) both in beef and dairy cattle. Although cattle are the natural hosts of bRSV, the virus can cause infection in non-bovine animal species like goats, sheep and camels. Interestingly, some species could act as reservoirs of the virus even with no signs of infection. That is the case of buffaloes. In Argentina little is known about bRSV circulation. There is only one study which describes the presence of antibodies against the virus in sera from cattle coming from three different provinces. As bRSV can cause pneumonia in calves leading to important economic loses and taken into account that many herds do not vaccinate against this virus in our country, a seroprevalence study was designed in order to study bRSV circulation. We also studied the presence of antibodies against the virus in sheep, goats, camels and water buffaloe which are of agricultural importance in Argentina.