Establishment of a bovine leukemia virus-free dairy herd in Korea.
- Author:
Guk Hyun SUH
1
;
Jeong Chi LEE
;
Chai Yong LEE
;
Tai Young HUR
;
Dong Soo SON
;
Byeong Seog AHN
;
Nam Chul KIM
;
Chung Gil LEE
Author Information
1. National Livestock Research Institute, Rural Development Administration, Cheonan 330-800, Korea. ghsuh@rda.go.kr.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
bovine leukemia virus;
dairy cattle;
ELISA;
test and segregate
- MeSH:
*Animal Husbandry;
Animals;
Antibodies, Viral/*blood;
Cattle;
Enzootic Bovine Leukosis/*prevention&control;
Female;
Korea;
Leukemia Virus, Bovine/*isolation&purification;
Male;
Prevalence
- From:Journal of Veterinary Science
2005;6(3):227-230
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
In view of the high prevalence rate of bovine leukemia virus (BLV)infections in cattle over the entire country, a large dairy farm in Chungnam province was chosen and 'test and segregate' program was instituted. On July 1999, ELISA test was performed on 491 animals on the farm and only 163 cattle (139 adult cows, 18 female and 6 male calves)were BLV-seronegative. From February 2000 through April 2004, the seronegative group was placed in barns 1,500 to 2,000 m from seropositive group and thereafter tested at 3-to 5-month intervals by ELISA. Animals seroconverted in consecutive tests were removed from the seronegative group immediately after the detection of anti-BLV antibodies. The changes in management were aimed at preventing iatrogenic transfer of blood between cattle. Replacement heifers imported from other countries and calves born at the farm were repeatedly tested by ELISA, and only seronegative animals were introduced into the group. As of April 2004, there were 311 cattle in the BLV seronegative group of the farm. Twent y four cows of the initial 139 adult cows were seroconverted in 2000, and no seropositive animals were found since February 2001. Follow up of the group, from which all seropositive cattle were moved to a separate location, revealed no recurrence of BLV infection for three years. The approach in the present study might be valuable for Korean producers who would like to move toward a BLV-negative status.
