Using caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus antigen in the agar gel immunodiffusion test, 3729 serum samples from goats in over 112 locations around the world were tested for precipitating antibodies. Over 90 per cent of the 1265 positive samples came from Canada, France, Norway, Switzerland and the USA, all of which had 65 per cent reactors or greater. Fiji, Great Britain, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand and Peru had fewer than 10 per cent positive samples; the majority of these could be traced to importations of goats from countries where there was a high occurrence of precipitating antibody. Somalia, Sudan and South Africa had no reactors among 306 samples. No reactors were found among 1116 samples from domestic and indigenous goats which were known to have had no contact with imported goats from countries which had a high occurrence.

SUMMARYPersistent infection by the retrovirus caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) induces arthritis in goats which closely resembles rheumatoid arthritis. To examine the relationship between virus expression and development of clinical disease, ten goat kids were inoculated with CAEV and examined at successive intervals through 18 months post-infection. Virus was monitored in cell-free synovial fluid cells, serum and peripheral blood cells by titration, co-cultivation and immunofluorescent techniques. Virus was readily recovered from the synovial cavity of all animals during the first 4 weeks of infection, followed by a reduction and fluctuation in virus titres and ability to detect virus. Recovery of CAEV from peripheral blood cells occurred at low frequency while viraemia was rare. Results obtained over a period of 18 months indicate a positive association between virus expression in the synovial cavity and development of clinically detectable disease.

SUMMARYPrecipitin lines formed between serum from a goat infected with caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) and radiolabelled viral proteins in polyethylene glycolconcentrated culture medium were excised from immunodiffusion (ID) plates and analysed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The two major precipitin lines contained the 135 000 mol. wt. glycoprotein (gp135) and the internal 28000 mol. wt. structural protein (p28). This method obviates the use of purified proteins or monospecific antisera to positively determine viral constituents in ID precipitin lines formed between a crude antigen preparation and antiserum against whole virus.

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