Bovine viral diarrhoea virus infection in cattle,sheep and goats in northern Tanzania

Virological and serological investigations were carried out in cattle, sheep and goats raised in the northern part of Tanzania in order to explore the possibility of bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) virus cycling within these animal species. Two noncytopathogenic BVD virus isolates (A4/5/Tan86 and A4/10/Tan86) were obtained from sera sampled from inapparently infected indigenous (zebu) cattle originating from Kiteto district in Arusha region. No BVD virus was isolated from any of the sheep or goat sera. Seroepidemiological investigations revealed widespread prevalence of neutralising antibodies to BVD virus not only in cattle but also in sheep and goats. The seropositive rates are discussed in relation to previous observations in Tanzania and other parts of the world and to the livestock husbandry practices in northern Tanzania.