Natural infection of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) in the beef cattle from the Eastern Amazon Region / Infecção natural pelo vírus da diarreia viral bovina (BVDV) em bovinos de corte no Estado do Pará

ABSTRACT

Background: Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a pathogen that causes great economic losses in dairy and beef herds. The main disturbances caused by this virus are related to abortion, fetal malformation and mummification, and the birth of weak calves. In addition, this disease may result in persistently infected animals, as well as individual immune tolerance to the virus. However, the symptoms are nonspecific and variable, and dependent on the age of affected animal. The objective of the present study was to report three cases with clinical signs of BVDV infection, with subsequent confirmation of the diagnosis by reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction technique (RT-PCR). Cases In a beef production farm located at the state of Para, Brazil, three animals presented severe diarrhea; the feces were liquefied and greenish-yellow in color; crusted lesions were visible and scattered over various parts of the animals bodies, including the muzzle, nostrils, periauricular region, and hooves; the tongue mucosa was undergoing an intense desquamation process. One of the affected animals, a 6-month-old calf, was euthanized following the recommendations of the Brazilian guide to good practices for animal euthanasia of the Ethics, Bioethics and Animal Welfare Committee / Federal Council of Veterinary Medicine. After euthanasia, this calf was necropsied and some of its organs [...]