INFECTION OF BOVINE UDDER WITH BOVINE HERPESVIRUS

  • 1 January 1965
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 29  (3) , 57-+
Abstract
Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis [long dash] infectious pustular vulvovaginitis (bovine herpesvirus) grown in tissue culture was used as inoculum in trials to infect the lactating bovine udder. Six experiments were undertaken in which one or more quarters were infused with 1 ml. of tissue culture fluids containing 106 to 107 tissue culture infectious doses (TCID) of virus. In 4 of the experiments the inoculated quarters showed marked evidence of infection in the form of acute inflammation, swelling, reduced milk secretion and profound changes in the physical appearance of the milk. In each case virus was recovered in high titers in the milk from about the 2nd until the 10th to 15th days following exposure. Uninfected quarters remained normal in appearance and virus could not be recovered from the milk. In 3 of the experiments it was shown that serum and milk antibodies appeared shortly after the disappearance of virus from the milk. One experiment involving 2 animals showed that about 1000 TCID of virus were required to produce infection. In one experiment a cow having a pre-inoculation serum titer for bovine herpesvirus proved resistant to infection. The experiments indicate that the bovine udder is readily susceptible to bovine herpesvirus in non-immune animals, and that the virus produces an acute, limited infection leading to a temporary disfunction of the gland. It appears that natural invasion of the udder through the teat canal is not readily accomplished by the virus.