SEROLOGIC DISTRIBUTION OF ANTIBODIES AGAINST ADENOVIRUSES IN SHEEP OF LARGE-SCALE FARMS

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 25  (3) , 213-217
Abstract
The common soluble antigen of the 1st subgroup of bovine adenoviruses was used for assaying 793 sheep sera by the agar gel diffusion test. Of the 50 farms included in the study 43 were found to be infected. The ratio of reacting samples was 73.7% of the sera obtained from infected farms. Virus neutralization tests revealed that a considerable number of sera reacted specifically with all types of ovine adenoviruses, even with serotypes which had never been isolated in Hungary. The results yielded by the agar gel diffusion tests were compared with the results of virus neutralization tests. Of 850 cattle serum samples, agar gel diffusion tests gave positive results in 33.4%. Virus neutralization test was done only with the bovine adenovirus type 2. No differences could be detected in antibody titers when the prototype strain (no. 19) and the strain isolated from sheep (ORT/111) were compared in parallel titrations. Both ruminant species were infected with bovine adenovirus type 2. Inapparent infection with these strains seemed to be less frequent among cattle than in sheep flocks.