title: Prevalence of Borna disease virus antibodies in healthy Japanese black cattle in Kyushu.
abstract: Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that asymptomatic infection of Borna disease virus (BDV) is found in various species of animals in Japan. Recent reports have also revealed that neurological diseases caused by this virus could exist in horses, cattle, a dog, and cats in this country. In this study, we investigated seroprevalence of BDV antibodies in Japanese black cows reared in Kyushu, the southernmost main island of Japan, using ELISA and Western-immunoblotting. Of 101 serum samples, 11 (10.9%) and 21(20.7%) sera were identified as having antibodies to the BDV N and P antigens, respectively. Among the positive sera, three cows (2.9%) were seropositive for both of the antigens. Furthermore, interestingly, only female cows showed antibodies to P, whereas N antibodies were detected in male and female cows with a comparative ratio. Together with previous studies, our results indicate that BDV might be widely spread in cattle raised in Japan. Furthermore, this is the first report to show that beef cattle, Japanese black cattle, have antibodies against a possible zoonotic pathogen, BDV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-2871, Japan.
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yanai
authors.forename: Naohiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohtaki
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikuta
authors.forename: Keizo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomonaga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000662:veterinary; D001890:Borna Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D001891:Borna disease virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins