2000 Volume 53 Issue 6 Pages 377-382
A serological survey conducted in Okayama Prefecture from August to October 1998 revealed that 89.9% of sentinel calves were positive for Akabane virus (AKV) antibodies and 46.4% were positive for Aino virus antibodies. A total of 136 cases of congenital abnormalities caused by AKV (102 case) and AIV or both (34 cases) was observed from early September 1998. Nested PRC detected the S RNA genomes of both viruses in serum samples from sentinel calves in late August and September. From late September into early December, The S RNA genome of AKV was detected in aborted or stillborn fetuses and in a 25-day-old calf with astasia. AIV was isolated from the blood plasma of a sentinel calf in late September 1998. Congenital abnormality caused by fetal infection with AKLV occurred at from 2 to 9 months gestation and congenital abnormality caused by fetal infection with AIV at from 3 to 6 months gestation. The nested PCR proved effective in epidemiological survey and in rapid diagnosis of AKV and AIV infections.
