Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 268, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Andres Ruiz Subira
Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 268, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Mohammed Al-Saadi
Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
Eleni Michalopoulou
Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Neston CH64 7TE, UK
Ranieri Verin
Department of Veterinary Pathology and Public Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Neston CH64 7TE, UK
Martina Dettwiler
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Animal Pathology, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Heli Nordgren
Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Agnes Sjöbergin katu 2, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Koen Chiers
Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Ernst Groβmann
Aulendorf State Veterinary Diagnostic Centre, Löwenbreitestrasse 18/20, 88326 Aulendorf, Germany
Kernt Köhler
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Frankfurter Strasse 96, 35390 Giessen, Germany
Michael Suntz
State Institute for Chemical and Veterinary Analysis Freiburg, Bissierstrasse 5, 79114 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
James P. Stewart
Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
Anja Kipar
Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 268, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
The genus Macavirus, subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae, comprises ungulate viruses that infect domestic and wild ruminants and swine. They cause asymptomatic latent infections in reservoir hosts and malignant catarrhal fever in susceptible species. Lung, spleen, bronchial lymph node, and tongue were collected from 448 cattle (348 necropsied, 100 slaughtered) in Switzerland, United Kingdom, Finland, Belgium, and Germany to determine their infection with bovine herpesvirus-6 (BoHV-6) and gammaherpesviruses of other ruminants, i.e., ovine herpesvirus-1 and -2, caprine herpesvirus-2, and bison lymphotropic herpesvirus, using quantitative PCR. Only BoHV-6 was detected, with an overall frequency of 32%, ranging between 22% and 42% in the different countries. Infection was detected across all ages, from one day after birth, and was positively correlated with age. There was no evidence of an association with specific disease processes. In positive animals, BoHV-6 was detected in all organs with high frequency, consistently in the lungs or spleen. Viral loads varied substantially. In BoHV-6-positive gravid cows, organs of fetuses tested negative for infection, indicating that the virus is not vertically transmitted. Our results confirm previous data indicating that BoHV-6 is a commensal of domestic cattle not associated with disease processes and confirm that infections with other macaviruses are rare and sporadic.
