Presence of Bovine herpesvirus type 4 (BHV-4) infection in bulls for artificial insemination in Serbia

Abstract

Bovine herpesvirus type 4 (BHV-4) is a worldwide distributed gammaherpesvirus, with different antigenic and biologic properties from all the other bovine herpesviruses. In vivo distribution of BHV-4 was examined by testing various organs of experimentally infected calves. However, limited data regarding excretion and transmission of BHV-4 from naturally infected cattle are available. In this report, we describe the detection of BHV-4 in the semen of bulls used for artificial insemination. Blood and semen of bulls from two major centers for artificial insemination (A.I. center) were examined in this study. In order to detect the presence of BHV-4 infection in the studied herds, 35 serum samples from Center I and 15 from Center II were examined using indirect ELISA for detection of specific anti-BHV4 IgGl immunoglobulins. Serological examination showed that 18 out of 50 serum samples were positive for BHV-4 antibodies. Despite the fact that BHV-4 was not isolated from semen samples the, presence of BHV-4 was detected in one sample using the nested PCR. This fact can be used to presuppose that artificial insemination is a potential route for BHV-4 transmission. .