Demonstration of the agent of bovine viral diarrhea-mucosal disease (BVD/MD) in comparison between organ fluoresence freezing method and the direct cultivation in tissue culture]

Organs of 100 calves whose clinical symptoms indicated a BVD/MD viral infection have been examined in the laboratory by different methods on BVD/MD virus in order to compare the effectivity of the single test-systems. By inoculation of organ material into tissue culture from foetal calf kidneys and additional staining with swine-fever conjugate in the CCSC-system 59 calves were detected as BVD/MD virus carriers. Taking this result for comparative purposes equal to 100% there could be stated an effectivity of 73% by inoculation of tissue cultures and judging cpe instead of staining with fluorescent antibody as above. Only 34% reactions could be demonstrated by means of heterotypic immunofluorescence in organ tissues. For diagnostic purposes a combination of the easy and quick method of heterotypic immunofluorescence in organ tissues and a cultural virus isolation from organ material with additional immunofluorescence is recommended.