Infection of cattle with Border disease virus by sheep on communal alpine pastures

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether sheep grazing communal alpine pastures with cattle can transmit Border disease virus (BDV) to cattle. A total of 1170 sheep and 923 cattle were tested for BDV using RT-PCR (sheep) and for pestivirus antibodies using an ELISA (cattle), respectively, before being moved to one of 4 pastures (A, B, C and D). Eight sheep from pasture C were viraemic. 396 of 923 cattle examined before the pasture season were seronegative. The latter were re-examined after the pasture season and 99 were seropositive or indeterminate. Antibody specificity was determined in 25 of these using a serum neutralization test (SNT). BDV infection was confirmed in 10 cattle and was considered likely in 8 others. BVDV infection was confirmed in 4 cattle and considered likely in 3 after pasturing. The study has shown that the transmission of BDV from sheep to cattle is possible on communal alpine pastures.

Pestivirus in alpine wild ruminants and sympatric livestock from the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain

“…In this sense, high seroprevalences have been reported in sheep grazing in alpine meadows of the Austrian (83 per cent), French (76.5 per cent) and Italian (90 per cent) Alps and Spanish Pyrenees (23–69 per cent) (Gaffuri and others 2006, Krametter-Froetscher and others 2007, Marco and others 2009a, Fernández-Sirera and others 2012a, Martin and others 2015) and relatively high seroprevalence has also been observed for several consecutive years in chamois from French (42 per cent) and Italian (18–42 per cent) Alps (Olde Riekerink and others 2005, Gaffuri and others 2006, Martin and others 2011, 2015, Fernández-Sirera and others 2012). In these studies, the higher prevalence of pestivirus antibodies in sympatric sheep (seroconversion in alpine meadows) as well as the relatively frequent detection of PI sheep (Krametter-Froetscher and others 2007, Braun and others 2013) indicate pestivirus transmission from livestock to chamois (Vilček and Nettleton 2006). In fact, a BDV isolated from a chamois was similar to sequences of local sheep strains in the French Alps (Martin and others 2015).…”

“…Free range livestock in communal alpine pastures is a farming system that has been frequently associated with pestivirus transmission among livestock (Krametter-Froetscher and others 2007, Braun and others 2013) and between domestic and wild ruminants (Casaubon and others 2012). In this sense, high seroprevalences have been reported in sheep grazing in alpine meadows of the Austrian (83 per cent), French (76.5 per cent) and Italian (90 per cent) Alps and Spanish Pyrenees (23–69 per cent) (Gaffuri and others 2006, Krametter-Froetscher and others 2007, Marco and others 2009a, Fernández-Sirera and others 2012a, Martin and others 2015) and relatively high seroprevalence has also been observed for several consecutive years in chamois from French (42 per cent) and Italian (18–42 per cent) Alps (Olde Riekerink and others 2005, Gaffuri and others 2006, Martin and others 2011, 2015, Fernández-Sirera and others 2012).…”

Spatial and Temporal Phylogeny of Border Disease Virus in Pyrenean Chamois (Rupicapra p. pyrenaica)

“…In the last decades, identification and genetic characterization of pestivirus strains in different animal species revealed an extensive interspecies transmission among both domestic [2,3,4] and wild ungulates [5,6], showing a low host specificity and a wide host range. Besides the interspecies transmission of known genetic variants, several newly emerged pestivirus were detected in livestock [7,8] and in wild ruminant populations [9].…”

Border disease virus: time to take more notice?

“…Secondly, whereas BVDV has commonly been found in sheep, border disease virus had yet to be detected in UK cattle (Vilcek and others 1999). More recent investigations have shown that border disease virus actually occurs naturally in cattle (Strong and others 2010), and that transfer from viraemic sheep to susceptible cattle can occur readily on shared pastures (Braun and others 2013). It is not clear to what extent BVD vaccines can be used to prevent reinfection of cattle with antigenically different border disease virus strains.…”