Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus

Abstract

Bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) is a lentivirus, which is known to infect cattle worldwide. Since its discovery in 1969, several studies have shown the presence of BIV throughout the world on the basis of serology and genomic detection. Isolation of the virus has been reported only from few places. Despite availability of diagnostic tools, BIV infection in cattle has not caught much attention due to uncertain and insignificant impact on health status and productivity of dairy cattle. The pathogenesis and mode of transmission of BIV in cattle is still unclear. BIV is pathologically more related to caprine arthritis and encephalitis virus (CAEV) and equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) that are associated with chronic inflammatory diseases, as compared to other lentiviruses associated with severe immunodeficiencies like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). A genetically and antigenically related virus, the Jembrana disease virus (JDV), causes an acute disease in Bali cattle (Bos javanicus) and is distinct from BIV in its pathological features. Differentiation of BIV infection in cattle from the acutely pathogenic JDV is important for diagnosis of the latter. Among known lentiviruses, the genomic structure BIV is the most complex due to the presence of several accessory genes regulating gene expression. BIV serves as a good model to study Lentivirus biology especially for HIV due to strikingly similar genetic structure of both viruses. This chapter describes the biology of the virus and its features as pathogen of cattle species.