Nationwide Survey of Bovine Leukemia Virus Infection among Dairy and Beef Breeding Cattle in Japan from 2010–2011

Abstract

A nationwide survey of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection was conducted among dairy and beef breeding cattle in Japan from 2010–2011 using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Of 20,835 cattle tested, 35.2% were seropositive for BLV. The intra-herd seroprevalence in dairy and beef breeding cattle were 40.9 and 28.7%, respectively. By the time animals were 1-year-old, 21.0% of dairy and 13.7% of beef breeding cattle were considered infected. Our findings indicate that BLV is widespread among dairy and beef breeding cattle in Japan, with BLV seroprevalence approximately 10- and 4-fold higher respectively, than previously reported for 1980–1982 in Japan.