Akabane and bovine ephemeral fever virus infections.

Akabane and bovine ephemeral fever viruses are exotic to the American continent. Both viruses are spread by insect vectors, and each causes disease of varying severity in food-producing animals. However, there are few other similarities between the agents and the diseases that they cause. They do not share the same insect vectors, the mammalian host range is different, and the clinical manifestations of virus infection vary markedly. Akabane virus is a cause of severe congenital defects, but adult animals show no signs of infection. In contrast, bovine ephemeral fever virus causes a febrile illness affecting mainly mature animals. If introduced to North America, it is probable that there would be significant economic losses, at least until endemic virus transmission patterns were established. Subsequently, it is likely that there would be patterns of alternate disease outbreaks followed by interepidemic periods in which there is a minor clinical effect.     

Hemagglutination with rhabdoviruses related to bovine ephemeral fever virus

Three different bovine ephemeral fever group viruses were tested for hemagglutination (HA). One of them, Tortilla Flat virus (CSIRO 368), agglutinated erythrocytes from geese, pigeons, horses, hamsters, mice and guinea-pigs when the concentrated infectious culture fluid was used as a hemagglutinin. The HA was dependent on the pH of phosphate buffered saline used as the erythrocyte diluent when using borate buffered saline (pH 9.0) with 0.4% bovine serum albumin as the antigen diluent. The optimal pH of the phosphate buffer was from 5.2 to 5.8. The HA, however, was not dependent on salt concentration. The incubation temperature did not affect the HA titer significantly. This HA reaction was inhibited by serotype specific antiserum.     

DNA sequence analysis of glycoprotein G gene of bovine ephemeral fever virus and development of a double oil emulsion vaccine against bovine ephemeral fever

The surface glycoprotein G is considered as the major neutralizing and protective antigen of bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV). Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of G protein of BEFV isolates during the period 1984-2004 outbreaks in Taiwan showed amino acid substitutions in the neutralizing epitopes. All the isolates differ markedly in the neutralizing epitope at the same amino acid positions compared to the currently available killed vaccine strain (Tn73). Tn88128 strain isolated in 1999 showed the maximum variability of 12 amino acids, 5 amino acid in the neutralization epitope and 7 apart from, respectively. Combinations of both Tn88128 (1999) and commercially available vaccine strain (Tn73) were developed and its safety was evaluated in mice, guinea pigs, calves, and pregnant cows. None of the animals showed any adverse effect or clinical signs. Calves were immunized with commercial vaccine (Tn73) and, combined vaccine (Tn73 and Tn88128), respectively, with adjuvants such as Al-gel and water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) oil and PBS alone and challenged with Tn88128 strains. Except PBS administered animals, all the vaccinated animals showed protective immune response. However, animals immunized with combined vaccine plus w/o/w adjuvant elicited stronger neutralization antibodies and long lasting immunity compared to other vaccines.     

牛流行热的诊治

牛流行热是由牛流行热病毒引起的急性热性传染病,农民俗称为“撮角温”。其特征是：突然高热,流泪,呼吸道和消化道器官的严重卡他性炎症和运动障碍。病势迅猛,但多为良性经过,大部分病牛经２～３ｄ恢复正常,故又称为３日热或暂时热。因流行面广、传播速度快,易造成...     

An experimental inactivated virus vaccine against bovine ephemeral fever 1. Studies of the virus

Studies were carried out to find methods for obtaining optimum yields of bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) virus and for concentrating the virus in order to develop inactivated virus vaccines. Cells from the SVP cell line, which was derived from the pig kidney PS cell line, were most satisfactory for growing and assaying BEF virus. BHK 21 and Vero cells also gave similar yields of virus but were not as useful for virus assay. A plaque assay in SVP cells, in which there was 0.1 μg of actinomycin D per ml of overlay, produced reproducible clear plaques and was slightly more sensitive than assays in BHK 21 cell roller tubes. High multiplicities of infection (MOI), around 1 PFU/cell, produced low yields of infectious virus, whereas decreasing the MOI approximately 100-fold led to an increase in virus yield of up to four logs. BEF virus could be concentrated using zinc acetate or ammonium sulphate but not polyethylene glycol 6000. Ammonium sulphate proved most suitable and produced an easily handled precipitate with up to 100% recovery of virus infectively, and 100-fold concentration was possible. This concentrated virus could be rapidly desalted by gel filtration through Sephadex G-75. The virus could be further purified by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation provided the gradient contained a protein stabilizer of 0.1% bovine serum albumin. Inactivation kinetics with 0.025% β-propiolactone was similar to that reported for other rhabdoviruses.     

The isolation and preliminary characterization of a rhabdovirus in Australia related to bovine ephemeral fever virus

CSIRO 368 virus was isolated from blood collected in the Northern Territory from a healthy cow and electron microscope studies showed that the isolate had rhabdovirus morphology. Fluorescent antibody studies and complement fixation tests related the virus to bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) virus. Neutralization tests in both suckling mice and Vero cells showed that the virus was not BEF virus. Antibodies to CSIRO 368 virus were found in cattle sera from northern and eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Antibodies were found in 16 out of 45 buffalo, some of which also had antibodies to BEF virus. In contrast, none of the 419 deer tested had antibodies to CSIRO 368 virus, although 142 of the same deer had antibodies to BEF virus. No antibodies to CSIRO 368 virus were detected in 16 goats, 54 horses, 10 pigs, 31 sheep, 25 kangaroos, or 14 human beings. Both CSIRO 368 and BEF viruses were found to be sensitive to ether and chloroform, but were not affected by the DNA inhibitor 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine, showing that they probably had the same type of nucleic acid--namely RNA. CSIRO 368 was also shown to grow to higher titres in BHK21 cells than in Vero cells. Temperature sensitivity studies at -20, 4 and 37 degrees C showed that the presence of foetal calf serum increased the survival time markedly at -20 degrees C, but only slightly at 4 and 37 degrees C. The virus survived the longest at -20 degrees C in the presence of foetal calf serum.