ARTICLE ARTIKEL

Detection of the bovine viral diarrhoea/mucosal disease (BVD/MD) virus in tissues from aborted ruminant foetuses using immunohistochemistry

S M Njiro^I; C M Nkosi^II

^IOnderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa, and Diagnosis of Zoonotic Diseases, Food, Feeds and Veterinary Public Health, Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute
^IIDepartment of Anatomical Pathology, PO Box 213, MEDUNSA, 0204 South Africa

ABSTRACT

Various tissues from aborted ruminant foetuses were collected, fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin wax. Sections were made and exposed to a primary monoclonal antibody against the bovine viral diarrhoea/mucosal disease (BVD/MD) virus, and subsequently to a goat anti-mouse secondary antibody conjugated to horse radish peroxidase (HRP). Diaminobenzidine (DAB) was the substrate and it released a brown pigment in the tissues on reacting with the HRP in an immunohistochemistry (IHC) procedure. Of 27 aborted foetuses, an immunoperoxidase staining reaction was observed in 1 ovine and 5 bovine foetuses. The IHC procedure located BVD/MD viral antigen in a wide variety of foetal tissues including cerebral cortical neurons, the pseudostratified columnar epithelial cells lining the bronchi, alveolar lining cells and alveolar macrophages, hepatocytes, renal tubular lining cells and the Purkinje fibres in the myocardium.

Keywords: aborted ruminant foetuses, BVD/MD virus, IHC

“Full text available only in PDF format”

REFERENCES

1. Blas-Machado U, Saliki J T, Duffy J C, Caseltine S L 2004 Bovine viral diarrhoea virus type 2 induced meningoencephalitis in a heifer. Veterinary Pathology 41: 190-194        [ Links ]

2. Craig M, Venzano A, Konig G, Morris W, Jimenez L, Julia S, Capellino F, Blanco Viera J, Weber E 2008 Detection of bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) nucleic acid and antigen in different organs of water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). Research in Veterinary Science 85: 194-196        [ Links ]

3. Evermann J F, Berry E S, Baszler T V Lewis T L, Byington T C, Dilbeck P M 1993 Diagnostic approaches for the detection of bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) virus and related pestiviruses. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigations 5: 265-269        [ Links ]

4. Fredriksen B, Press C M, Sandvik T, Odegaard S A, Loken T 1999 Detection of viral antigen in placenta and fetus of cattle acutely infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus. Veterinary Pathology 36: 267-275        [ Links ]

5. Grooms D L, Keilen E D 2002 Screening of neonatal calves for persistent infections with bovine viral diarrhoea virus by immunohistochemistry on skin biopsy samples. Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, July 2002: 898-900        [ Links ]

6. Odeon A C, Kelling C L, Marshall D J, Estela E S, Dubovi E J, Donis R O 1999 Experimental infection of calves with bovine viral diarrhoea virus genotype II (NY-93). Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigations 11: 221-228        [ Links ]

7. Potgieter L N D 2004 Bovine viral diarrhoea and mucosal disease In Coetzer J A W, Tustin R C (eds) Infectious diseases of livestock (3rd edn). Oxford University Press, Cape Town: 946-969        [ Links ]

Received: May 2009
Accepted: October 2009

* Author for correspondence. E-mail: njiros@arc.agric.za