Bovine leukemia virus p24 antibodies reflect blood proviral load.

GERONIMO GUTIERREZ; CARIGNANO HUGO; ALVAREZ IRENE; CECILIA MARTINEZ; NATALIA PORTA; POLITZKI ROMINA; MARIELA GAMMELLA; MARINA LOMÓNACO; FONDEVILA NORBERTO; POLI MARIO; KARINA TRONO

BMC VETERINARY RESEARCH

BIOMED CENTRAL LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2012 vol. 9 p. 1 - 1

1746-6148

BACKGROUND: Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is worldwide distributed and highly endemic in Argentina. Among the strategies to prevent BLV dissemination, a control plan based on the selective segregation of animals according to their proviral load (PVL) is promising for our dairy productive system. The objective of this work was to study the relationship between the blood PVL and the antibody level, in order to identify whether the individual humoral response, i.e. the anti-p24 or anti-whole-BLV particle, could be used as a marker of the blood level of infection and thus help to recruit animals that may pose a lower risk of dissemination under natural conditions. RESULTS: The prevalence of p24 antibodies on the 15 farms studied was over 66%. The prevalence of p24 and whole-BLV antibodies and PVL quantification were analyzed in all the samples (n = 196)taken from herds T1 and 51. ROC analysis showed a higher C for p24 antibodies than whole-BLV antibodies (Z(reactivity): 3.55, P < 0.001; Z(titer): 2.88, P