Retrospective epidemiological evaluation of molecular and animal husbandry data within the bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) control programme in Western Austria during 2009-2014.

A retrospective epidemiological investigation of molecular and animal husbandry data collected over an observation period of five years (2009-2014) within the compulsory bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) control programme in Western Austria, covering the federal provinces of Tyrol and Vorarlberg is presented in this study. Samples collected from 232 infected calves were phylogenetically classified based on the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR). All but 13 samples, which were typed as border disease virus subtype 3 (BDV-3), belonged to the bovine viral diarrhoea virus genotype 1 (BVDV-1) and clustered within six different subtypes (1b, 1e, 1f, 1h, 1d and 1k). Movement data and survival times from infected individual animals were analysed because of their potential of passing on infection to naive herds. From the moment of submission of the laboratory results, 180 animals were culled within the first month, 13 lived longer than two but not longer than six months and seven infected animals lived longer than one year. 13 of the infected animals were born on alpine pastures and eleven infected animals were grazed on mountain pastures during summer. The movement of infected animals and the role of trade in alpine areas are a possible source for spreading the infection, thus hampering the progress of eradication.

A Two-Years' Survey on the Prevalence of Tuberculosis Caused by Mycobacterium caprae in Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) in the Tyrol, Austria.

A survey of 143 hunter-harvested red deer for tuberculosis was conducted in an Alpine area in Western Austria over two subsequent years. There, single tuberculosis cases caused by Mycobacterium caprae had been detected in cattle and red deer over the preceding decade. The area under investigation covered approximately 500 km(2), divided into five different hunting plots. Lymph nodes of red deer were examined grossly and microscopically for typical tuberculosis-like lesions and additionally by microbiological culturing. Executing a detailed hunting plan, nine M. caprae isolates were obtained. Six out of nine originated from one single hunting plot with the highest estimated prevalence of tuberculosis, that is, 23.1%. All isolates were genotyped by mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number of tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing of 24 standard loci plus VNTR 1982. All nine isolates belonged to a single cluster termed "Lechtal" which had been found in cattle and red deer in the region, demonstrating a remarkable dominance and stability over ten years. This is the first report on a systematic prospective study investigating the prevalence and strain variability of M. caprae infection in red deer in Austria and in the Alpine countries.

Monitoring for bovine viral diarrhea virus in Austrian red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus) by using ear-notch samples.

During 2007-09, ear-notch samples from free-living (n=527) and farmed (n=237) Austrian red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus) were tested for bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 (BVDV-1) and type 2 (BVDV-2) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and single-tube real-time reverse transcription PCR. Ear-notch samples were collected by applying modified ear tags from randomly selected hunter-harvested red deer and from individuals originating from deer holdings. All samples tested negative for BVDV-1 and BVDV-2. Results of this study show no evidence of persistently infected animals. They indicate further that BVDV is playing a minor role in free-living and farmed red deer in Austria. Ear-notch samples are an effective tool for in vivo and postmortem detection of BVDV in wildlife. This sample collection technique can be easily used in combination with tagging individual wild animals kept in captivity.