Bovine Herpesvirus Types 5 (BoHV5): A New and Emerging Threat in Indian Cattle

Abstract

Bovine herpesvirus 5 (BoHV-5) belongs to the genus varicellovirus family herpesviridae and is a causative agent of meningo-encephalitis in cattle. BoHV-5 can replicates in the central nervous system (CNS) to cause encephalitis and establishes latency in the trigeminal ganglion of either naturally infected cattle or experimentally inoculated laboratory animals. BoHV 5 was first time reported in Australia in 1962 and subsequently reported in Latin Ameican countries Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Few cases of BoHV5 infection has also been reported in USA and Europe. Recently, the BoHV5 infection was reported in Indian cattle for the first time. The BoHV5 was isolated from aborted cattle and characterized as BoHV5 subtype A and this finding may necessitate inclusion of BoHV5 test protocol in testing of semen for sexually transmitted diseases. Because BoHV5 infection in cattle recently reported in India so, it is needed to explore the similarity of the isolates with earlier reported isolates and to check it’s pathogenicity to cause encephalitis in natural host and in experimental animals like rabbits, rat, guniea pig etc. Beside this, we have to explore the information about co-infection of BoHV5 with other viral, bacterial, fungal as well as parasitic agents.