Biology of bovine herpesvirus 5

DEL MEDICO ZAJAC, MARIA PAULA; LADELFA, MARIA FATIMA; KOTSIAS, FIORELLA; MUYLKENS, BENOIT; THIRY, JULIEN; THIRY, ETIENNE; ROMERA, SONIA ALEJANDRA

The Veterinary Journal

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2010 vol. 184 p. 138 - 145

1090-0233

Bovine herpesvirus 5 (BoHV-5) is an alphaherpesvirus responsible for meningoencephalitis in young cattle and is closely antigenically and genetically related to bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1). Both viruses have common aspects in their pathogenesis: (1) they infect epithelial cells at the portal of entry and (2) they establish a latent infection in the sensory nerve ganglia, i.e., the trigeminal ganglia. However, they have different neuroinvasion and neurovirulence capacities. Only in rare cases can BoHV-1 reach the brain of infected cattle. BoHV-5 infection induces different degrees of severity of neurological disease depending on both viral and host factors. Although a case of BoHV-5 associated disease in Europe and some outbreaks in USA and Australia have been reported, the current geographical distribution of BoHV-5 infection is mainly restricted to South America, especially Brazil and Argentina. This review focuses on the genomic characteristics, pathobiology and epidemiology of BoHV-5, in order to provide information on the possible basis of alphaherpesvirus neuropathogenesis.