title: Long-term viral serology of semi-free-living and captive ungulates.
abstract: Between 1973 and 1994, blood samples were collected at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park (UK) from three ungulate species kept in enclosures, including 28 European bison (Bison bonasus), 37 scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), and 49 Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), and also from 144 semi-free-living Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis). These samples were tested for the presence of antibodies against three bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV)-like strains, three alpha-herpesvirus strains, enzootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) of deer, bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bovine adenovirus 3 (BAV-3), and enzootic bovine leucosis virus (EBLV). Thirty-three individuals (13.1%) had antibodies to one or more of the three BVDV-like viruses, with titers ranging from 1:5 to 1:16, and 17 individuals (6.6%) were positive for antibodies to one or more of the three alpha-herpesviruses, with titers between 1:4 and 1:80. The highest titers and greatest proportion of seropositivity were against SH9/11, a recently isolated cytopathogenic pestivirus from wild roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). There were no positive reactors to BRSV and EHDV, and there was only one BAV-3 positive reactor, a scimitar-horned oryx, and one EBLV reactor, a European bison. There is no serologic evidence that semi-free-ranging Chinese water deer are important reservoirs or transmitters of the viral diseases investigated.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Frölich
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Flach
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D000866:Antelopes; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D016164:Bison; D001912:Bovine Virus Diarrhea-Mucosal Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D002417:Cattle; D003670:Deer; D001908:Diarrhea Viruses, Bovine Viral / Q000276:immunology; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000276:immunology; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral