Pestiviruses and Teratogenic viruses Flashcards
What is a teratogen?
A teratogen is an agent that can disturb the development of an embryo or fetus
What are some examples of teratogens?
- radiation
- maternal infections
- chemicals
- drugs
Give 4 examples of teratogenic viruses
- Blue tongue
- Japanese B encephalitis
- Epizootic haemorrhagic disease
- BVD
What is the genome organisation of a pestivirus?
- Single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus of genome 12.3kb
- single open reading frame is translated to different polyproteins
- the virion is enveloped- size 40-60nm is diameter
What is the structure of the pestivirus virion?
- Enveloped
- spherical
- 50nm in diameter
How many encoded proteins do mature pestivirus virions have?
three virus-encoded proteins
Erns, E1, E2
What is the immundominant glycoprotein in pestiviruses?
E2
carries neutralising epitopes
What are the two main genotypes of BVDV?
BVDV-1 and BVDV-2
What is the most common BVDV genotype in the UK?
BVDV-1
What is the host range of BVDV?
- Sheep
- Goats
- Pigs
What is the clinical presentation of BVDV?
- Acute enteric, respiratory disease
- Reproductive and foetal disease in susceptible breeding females
- Mucousal disease
What are the two biotypes of BVDV?
- Non-Cytopathogenic
- Cytopathogenic
What does infection of a seronegative animal with BVDV lead to?
a transient, acute, infection that usually causes no or mild clinical symptoms
When does persistent BVDV infection occur?
Infection of ncp but not cp
occurs in month 2-4
persistent infection of the fetus
What happens when a BVDV infection occurs late in gestation?
abortion and malformation
What is the definition of a persistent infection?
animal is already infected with the virus when it is born and remains infected throughout its entire life
What happens when the foetus is infected in the first 90 days of life?
BVDV
- The foetus becomes immunotolerant to the virus
- Virus therefore survives and replicates
- the animals can act as a reservoir of infection to the rest of the herd
- they are also susceptible to mucousal disease