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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #307147
Title: Enteric disease in postweaned beef calves associated with a Bovine coronavirus clade 2

Author
item FULTON, ROBERT - Oklahoma State University
item HERD, HEATHER - Oklahoma State University
item SORENSEN, NICHOLAS - Oklahoma State University
item CONFER, ANTHONY - Oklahoma State University
item RITCHEY, JERRY - Oklahoma State University
item Ridpath, Julia
item BURGE, LURINDA - Oklahoma State University

Submitted to: Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/5/2014
Publication Date: 12/18/2014
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/61238
Citation: Fulton, R.W., Herd, H.R., Sorensen, N.J., Confer, A.W., Ritchey, J.W., Ridpath, J.F., Burge, L.J. 2014. Enteric disease in postweaned beef calves associated with a Bovine coronavirus clade 2. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. 27(1)97-101. DOI: 1177/1040638714559026.

Interpretive Summary: Coronaviruses are a diverse group of viruses that infect birds and many mammals including humans. A type of coronavirus that infects cattle was discovered in the 1950’s and named bovine coronavirus (BoCV). At that time it was thought that this virus caused primarily diarrheal disease. Recently new types of BoCV, referred to as a subgenotypes, have been isolated from cattle suffering from respiratory symptoms. This raised the question of whether the new subgenotypes caused a different disease than the first genotype of BoCV identified. This case report documents that viruses from one of the new genotypes of BoCV caused a diarrheal disease very similar to that reported for outbreaks of the first genotype of BoCV. When diagnosticians try to determine the cause of outbreaks of diarrhea they look for the presence of a list of known pathogens that cause diarrhea. The information in this study is important because it adds another virus to that list.

Technical Abstract: Bovine coronavirus (BoCV) infections are associated with varied clinical presentations including neonatal diarrhea, winter dysentery in dairy cattle, and respiratory disease in various ages of cattle. This report presents information on BoCV infections associated with enteric disease of postweaned beef cattle in our region. In three separate accessions, one in 2012 and two in 2013 calves were observed with bloody diarrhea. One herd had the clinic cases in both 2012 and 2013. One calf in 2012 died and was necropsied and two calves from this herd died in 2013 and were necropsied. A third calf from another herd died and was necropsied. The gross and hisopathologic diagnosis was acute, hemorrhagic colitis in all four cattle. Colonic tissues from all four animals were positive by fluorescent antibody and/or immunohistochemistry for BoCV antigen. BoCV was isolated from swabs of colon surfaces of all animals. The genomic information from a region of the S envelope region revealed BoCV clade 2. Detection of BoCV clade 2 in beef cattle in our region is consistent with recovery of BoCV clade 2 from the respiratory tract of postweaned beef calves that had respiratory disease signs or were healthy. Further investigations on the ecology of BoCV in cattle are important as the BoCV may be an emerging disease beyond the initial descriptions. Challenge studies are important to determine pathogenicity of these strains. Also there are implications to determine if current BoCV vaccines are efficacious against the BoCV clade 2 strains.