Seroprevalence to bovine virus diarrhoea virus and other viruses of the bovine respiratory complex in Venezuela (Apure State).

Six hundred and fifteen serum samples obtained from cows in five districts of Apure State, Venezuela, were tested by ELISA for antibodies to bovine virus diarrhoea virus (BVDV). The same samples were also ELISA-tested for antibodies to bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV). Additionally, the haemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test was used for detecting antibodies to parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV-3). Overall, seroprevalence to BVDV was 36+/-7% (SE); seroprevalence varied by district (19-42%). BHV-1 seroprevalence was 67+/-4%; variation by district was similar to that of BVDV. However, the first 80 serum samples tested by BHV-1 ELISA all had a strong background reaction with the control antigen. Therefore, these sera were adsorbed to a homogenate of non-infected bovine kidney cell line (MDBK) and retested by ELISA. The non-specific reactivity was significantly reduced (p<0.001 by Wilcoxon's signed-rank test). Compared to the virus-neutralisation (VN) test, the adsorbed BHV-1 ELISA showed 94% agreement and gave a kappa value of 0.84, indicating that the adsorption did not interfere with test accuracy. Seroprevalence against BRSV was 85+/-3%, and showed differences across districts. Most of the cows (94+/-2%) were seropositive to PIV-3, and there were no significant differences among districts.