title: Epidemiological survey for visna-maedi among sheep in northern prefectures of Japan.
abstract: Ovine sera collected from the northern Prefectures of Hokkaido, Iwate and Aomori in Japan, were examined for the presence of antibodies against visna-maedi virus using the agar gel immunodiffusion test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Three animals (1.12%), out of 267 samples tested, were found to be seropositive to the visna-maedi antigens in both tests. Levels of infection were found in flocks from Hokkaido and Iwate Prefectures, but not in the Aomori Prefecture. Nucleic acid detection by polymerase chain reaction on serum samples did not give positive results. Although no diagnostic measures were in place, the infection could not be related to losses in sheep production or to reduced survival rates. The very limited visna-maedi distribution indicates a highly favourable condition for the application of eradication strategies in this area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550, Japan. giangasp@iwate-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giangaspero
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osawa
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Orusa
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Frossard
authors.forename: Brindha
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Naidu
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Robetto
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tatami
authors.forename: Eishu
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moriya
authors.forename: Norimoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okura
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Ryô
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harasawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011021:Pneumonia, Progressive Interstitial, of Sheep / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012756:Sheep; D014790:Visna-maedi virus
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral