Seroprevalence of bovine immunodeficiency virus and bovine leukemia virus in dairy and beef cattle in Hokkaido

Abstract

Serological survey of bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) and bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection was conducted in dairy cattle from 10 different regions of Hokkaido, Japan. Among 390 cattle, 11.0% of cattle were BIV-seropositive and 3.3% were BLV-seropositive. Moreover, in two dairy farms, where bovine leukosis has been reported, prevalence of BIV infections were 6.4 and 9.1%, respectively. In contrast, among 150 beef cattle, 16.6% were BIV-seropositive while none was BLV-seropositive. Dual infections with BLV and BIV in dairy cattle were tested by using 107 BLV-seropositive sera, and 20 sera were found BIV-positive (18.7%). These results indicate that BIV infection was widespread in Hokkaido.