Serological survey of viral antibodies in llamas (Lama glama) in Argentina.

This study analysed sera from 390 llamas (Lama glama) from nine farms located in three different Argentine provinces: Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Jujuy. The samples were tested for antibodies against 8 virus known to infect cattle: bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine adenovirus (BAdV III), bovine enterovirus (BEV), bovine rotavirus (BRV), bluetongue virus (BTV), bovine leukaemia virus (BLV), and foot-and-mouth virus (FMDV) by conventional methods such as seroneutralization, immunoperoxidase staining, and agar gel immunodiffusion. The antibody prevalences detected in llamas were: BHV-1 in 0.77% (3/390), BVDV in 2.05% (8/390), BAdV III in 5.13% (20/390), BEV in 4.10% (16/390), BRV in 87.69% (342/390). No antibodies against BTV, BLV and VIAA (FMDV infection associated antigen) were detected.

Detection of antibodies against foot-and-mouth disease virus using a liquid-phase blocking sandwich ELISA (LPBE) with a bioengineered 3D protein.

A liquid-phase blocking sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA-3D) was developed to detect specific antibodies to the 3D protein in sera from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus (FMDV)-infected animals. The assay uses a nonstructural 3D recombinant protein and two polyclonal antisera, one for capture (bovine) and the other for detector (guinea pig). The specificity of the assay was demonstrated by negative results with 101 sera of cattle from the FMD-free zone in Argentina and with bovine and porcine sera raised against various RNA and DNA viruses. The ELISA-3D was able to detect antibodies in cattle after natural or experimental infection with FMDV of A, O, or C types as early as 5 days postinfection and at later stages in persistently infected animals. Comparison of the results with those obtained with the routinely used agar gel immunodiffusion test and a previously described ELISA, both employing a partially purified virus-infection-associated antigen, shows that the ELISA-3D is highly sensitive and specific and gives reproducible results. Its use as a tool for monitoring viral activity and for certification of FMDV-free animals is recommended.

Susceptibility of llamas (Lama glama) to infection with foot-and-mouth-disease virus.

An experimental trial was conducted to evaluate the ability of foot-and-mouth-disease (FMD) virus (serotypes A79, C3, O1) to infect susceptible llamas exposed either directly to affected livestock, or indirectly to llamas that had been directly exposed to affected livestock. In addition, susceptible livestock species (cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep) were exposed to those llamas that had been both directly and indirectly exposed to the FMD virus to further look at potential transmission possibilities. Of 30 llamas directly exposed to the FMD virus, only three (3/30) showed evidence of infection, and of those, only two (2/30) had mild clinical signs. No FMD virus was isolated from either oesophageal-pharyngeal (OP) fluid or blood samples collected from the infected llamas beyond 14 days post-exposure. There was no evidence of virus transmission between the directly exposed and indirectly exposed llamas or between both groups of llamas and susceptible domestic livestock, as determined by the lack of clinical signs, by virus isolation, and by serology results. These results provide further evidence that llamas are resistant to FMD infection, and that they play a minor role, if any, in transmitting the virus to domestic livestock.