Visna Virus Meningoencephalomyelitis in Goats

Abstract

SUNDQUIST, BO, LENNART Jl>NSSON, STEN-OLOF JACOBSSON and KARL-ERIK HAMMARBERG: Yisna virus meningoencephalomgelitis in goats. Acta vet. scand. 1981, 22, -A progressive paresis was encountered in herds of Swedish goats. The symp,toms developed during a period of weeks or months, and were Indtially often seen as a weakness of the hind limbs before the animals, became paralytic. The development and the histopathological lesions, of the disease in the CNS and the lungs. we're:" similar to those of visna in sheep. In vitro grown choroid plexus cells, prepared from affected goats, showed foci of polykaryocytes, Electron microscopy revealed the presence of particles morphologically similar to those of sheep visna virus (SVV). Goats experimentally infected with the goat visna virus (GVV) developed eNS lesions similar to those of visna in sheep and became seropositive to SVV. The results of complement fixation tests, carr-ied out on sera from 11 goat herds, showed a coincidence between seroposdtiveness and the OCCl1JITence, of disease in one and the same herd. Using the ELISA method, an. average of 80 % of the goats in 5 herds were found to b•e seropositive to GVV. visna virus; meningoencephalomyelitis; goat.viruses. We could identify particles of the same morphology in CP cells prepared from 5 diseased goats out of 6.

An outbreak of small ruminant lentivirus in a Swedish dairy goat herd

“…Blood and milk samples were brought to the National Veterinary Institute (SVA) for further analysis. The blood samples were centrifugated (3000 rpm for 10 minutes), and serum was aliquoted in new tubes and frozen at −20 • C. Faecal samples (7) for parasitology were collected by the goat owner according to the farm's normal procedures (randomly chosen by the owner) and were submitted to Vidilab (Enköping). Four goats with severe respiratory distress (3) and/or lameness (1) were euthanased and transported to SVA for postmortem examination.…”

“…SRLVs have been detected in most sheep-and goat-raising countries, including Sweden, where it was first described in the 1970s. 6,7 The prevalence of SRLV in Sweden is not known, though a study from 2018 showed that three out of 10 Swedish goat herds were seropositive for SRLV, 8 while in a more recent study only three out of 20 herds were positive. 9 SRLV infection is a notifiable disease in Sweden (SJVFS 2013:23).…”