Prevalence of bovine herpesvirus-1, bovine viral diarrhea, parainfluenza-3, goat respiratory syncytial, bovine leukemia, and bluetongue viral antibodies in sheep.

Sera from healthy sheep were collected in January and March 1982 from flocks of sheep located in southwestern and southeastern Louisiana. These sera were tested for bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), parainfluenza-3 (PI-3) virus, and goat respiratory syncytial virus (GRSV) antibodies by microtitration virus-neutralization test. The sera were tested also for bovine leukemia virus (BLV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) antibodies by immunodiffusion tests. The number of flocks with seropositive sheep for each virus were: 2/8 (25%) for BVDV; 8/8 (100%) for PI-3 virus; 7/8 (87.5%) for GRSV; and 6/8 (75%) for BTV. Seropositive rates for each virus for the individual sheep tested were: 4/158 (2.5%) for BVDV; 117/158 (74.1%) for PI-3 virus; 77/158 (48.7%) for GRSV; and 21/158 (13.3%) for BTV. All sheep were seronegative for BHV-1 and BLV.