Prevalence of antibodies against BHV-1 in cattle with infectious bovine rhinotracheitis

Bovine herpes virus-1 (BHV-1) infection, a known cause for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis which manifests in two clinical forms, one with respiratory, the other with mammary gland related symptoms in cattle. The presence of BHV-1 infection is a concern in a herd for control, for which the load of the infection need to be estimated by surveillance for detection of antibody against BHV-I in cattle with clinical or subclinical infections. In the present study, we have investigated for the prevalence antibodies against BHV-I in cattle from the unorganized form. The sera and milk from the cattle with both repiratory (19 Jersey cross, 9 Non descriptive, 6 Holstein Friesian and 5 Hallikar cattle) and mammary gland related problems (11 Jersey, 5 HE, and 4 Non-descriptive cattle) of IBR were screened for antibodies against BHV-1 by Indirect ELISA. Among the breeds of cattle evaluated with the respiratory signs, majority of HF cross (83.33%) had antibodies against BHV-I compared to that of Jersey cross (68.42%). Among the breeds tested with mammary glands related problems, (63.6%) of the Jersy animals had antibodies, suggesting that the IBR affects the milk production also, which is to be considered while framing control strategies.