Author: Marie-Liesse Lassauzet
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Author: Vickie J. Ruggiero
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781392118214
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is an oncogenic deltaretrovirus of cattle that is estimated to infect more than 40% of U.S. dairy cows and cost the dairy industry hundreds of millions of dollars per year. BLV inserts a DNA copy (provirus) into the host genome and can cause leukemia and lymphoma in 1-5% of infected animals, while around 30% develop a non-malignant lymphocytosis, often coupled with high proviral load. BLV infection in dairy cows has also been associated with a number of economically important effects, such as decreased milk production, longevity, and immune function. The primary goal of this dissertation was to develop management protocols that can be implemented on U.S. dairy operations. We also aimed to further characterize in vivo immunologic effects of BLV infection, especially at mucosal junctions, hypothesizing that BLV+ cows would have lower concentrations of IgA antibody. To test the effect of BLV infection on total IgA concentrations, we analyzed the milk, saliva, and serum of BLV+ cows with varying lymphocyte count and proviral load profiles for comparison with BLV- herd mates. We found that BLV+ cows exhibited numerically lower concentrations of IgA in both milk and saliva, but not serum, in comparison to BLV- cows. Although the observed decreases were not statistically significant, the biological effects remain unknown. We also observed that the lowest concentrations of IgA were seen in the milk and saliva of BLV+ cows without lymphocytosis or high PVL, and these differences were trending toward significance. Our data, if confirmed, suggests that BLV may be disruptive to the immunology of mucosal junctions. We developed and implemented three field trials to evaluate management protocols for control of BLV in dairy herds. The first trial investigated the frequently suggested management intervention of improved medical hygiene by changing from shared needles and reproductive sleeves to single-use items. In this field trial, BLV- herd mates were assigned to control (re-use) or intervention (single-use) groups and the incidence risk was calculated semi-annually. Although we saw no difference in the risk of new infections in our study, medical hygiene may still play a role in the transmission of BLV as well as other diseases. This study also identified an increase in incidence risk in the summer exposure period. Meanwhile, our second field trial was a novel intervention which used milk ELISA screening to identify BLV+ cows for further characterization of their lymphocyte count (LC) and proviral load (PVL). In this manner, we identified cows thought to be the most infectious to their susceptible herd mates, and worked with herd managers to create a priority removal plan to consider when culling cows or implementing segregation measures. Overall, the three enrolled herds significantly reduced both BLV prevalence and incidence risk over a 2 to 2.5 year period. In this study, no significant associations with season were observed. Our final field trial aimed to demonstrate that milk ELISA testing could be used in herds with low BLV prevalence in order to identify and remove the few remaining BLV+ animals and achieve eradication of the virus. Two herds that were able to remove all BLV+ adult cows were generally successful, though the young stock (first lactation heifers) were a reservoir for reintroduction. In addition, we observed 5 first lactation heifers in one herd which had previously tested negative on serum ELISA but later tested positive on milk ELISA after entering the milking herd. This agrees with reports of latent BLV infections, and provides further evidence that long-term surveillance and further research on the infection dynamics of BLV are needed.

Author: Gustavo Enrique Monti
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789085042341
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Author: Eunyoung Lee
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Author: Gabriel Ferdinand
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Author: Althaea Langston
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Author: Bachir Fekar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Author: A. Burny
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780898388466
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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This volume on enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) and bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the second in our series "Developments in Veterinary Virology". Each book in this series is devoted to a major virus disease of agricultural significance. The chapters in each volume are planned to supply information on a range of subjects from pathogenesis of the causative virus to vaccination, eradication, and rules regarding disease control. The present volume on enzootic bovine leukosis and bovine leukemia virus updates the reader on the disease and its causative agent and includes the nucleotide sequence of the BLV genome as well as data on its integration into the DNA of the tumor cell. Insights into diagnosis, veterinary legislation, and the economic aspects of EBL are also provided. Intense research conducted on EBL and BLV during the course of a decade is presented in a most concise and in-depth manner, so as to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of this economically important disease of cattle. I wish to thank the editors, A. Burny and M. Mammerickx, as well as all the authors, for making this excellent book available at a stage when the knowledge on bovine leukemia virus will also contribute to our understanding of the virus causing human AIDS.

Author: Lauren Margaret Hylle
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Author: Thomas Kohler
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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