Abstract
Bovine reproductive disease attributable to bovine herpes virus-1 (BoHV-1) was first described in Germany in the 19th century, being recognised primarily as the cause of infectious vulvovaginitis and balanoposthitis until the mid-1950s when a more virulent strain of the virus (BoHV-1.1) associated with respiratory disease (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis; IBR) emerged in the western United States. Subsequently, IBR emerged as a clinical condition in Europe, from the 1970s onward. While the ability of BoHV-1 to produce respiratory disease is now well recognised, the potential negative outcomes of infection on fertility and reproduction are less frequently considered. This review was conducted against the background of the prioritization of disease caused by BoHV-1 as one of several diseases to be addressed by Animal Health Ireland, with the twin goals of summarizing the published literature on the potential outcomes of infection at different stages of breeding and pregnancy, and of describing the emergence of BoHV-1 as a significant pathogen in Ireland and the UK.
Highlights
Addressing infection with bovine herpes virus-1 (BoHV-1) in the Irish cattle population has been identified as a priority for Animal Health Ireland (AHI; www.animalhealthireland. ie), a not-for profit partnership between livestock farmers, processors, service providers and government to address important non-regulated diseases that was established in 2009 [1,2]
As will be described later in detail, the respiratory form of BoHV-1 infection spread to Europe in the late 1960s and early 1970s and since infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) has been considered to be the predominant clinical disease associated with this virus, Correspondence: david@animalhealthireland.ie Animal Health Ireland, Main Street, Carrick on Shannon, County Leitrim, Ireland including in Ireland
IBR as a clinical entity first appeared in feedlots and dairies in the western USA in the 1950s
Summary
Abortions in the control groups occurred between 8 and 41 days post challenge and the authors noted a greater success in isolating virus from placenta as compared with foetal tissues This observation was supported by the findings of other studies [32,33] which highlighted placental tissue as a suitable diagnostic specimen, with the latter reporting the presence of culturable virus in the cotyledons of the placenta of 13 of 13 pregnant cows inoculated with BoHV-1 by the i.m. route. This publication [41] reports on the isolation of BoHV-1 from cattle from New York suffering IPV and presented a hypothesis for the emergence of clinical IBR, proposing that BoHV-1 was maintained in European cattle in the early 1900s primarily as a genital infection (IPV) This was favoured by the presence of small, relatively isolated herds with a predominance of natural service in Europe at that time, with little opportunity for the virus to undergo extensive serial propagation in the respiratory tracts of susceptible cattle. Consistent with this theory is the concurrent emergence of clinical disease in Californian dairy herds where cattle are maintained in conditions similar to those of large feedlots and AI rather than natural service predominated
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
