Serological and molecular detection of Bovine Herpes Virus 1 infection in cattle by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and polymerase chain reaction

The present study was undertaken to assess the seroprevalence of Bovine Herpes Virus 1 (BoHV 1) in cattle in and around Thrissur district employing ELISA and to detect the presence of the virus from suspected cases of abortion in cattle using PCR assay. A total of 182 serum samples were screened using commercially available ELISA kit of which 22 were found positive for BoHV1 antibody with a seropositivity of 12.09 per cent. For the detection of BoHV1 virus in aborted cases, a PCR assay was standardised targeting glycoprotein C gene of BoHV1. Out of a total of 13 aborted foetal tissue samples, six were found to be positive with an amplicon size of 179 bp. Further, the amplicons were confirmed by nucleotide sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences showed that our sample from Kerala grouped with isolates from India (Gujarat and UP), Brazil, Switzerland, and USA.