A follow-up study on bovine rotavirus dissemination among calves of a large dairy herd
Schusser, G.; Hinaidy, B.; Bürki, F.
Microbiologica 5(4): 321-332
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0391-5352 PMID: 6296636 Document Number: 187963
In a closed dairy herd numbering 220 cattle of all ages, rotaviruses had previously been involved in lethal diarrhoea of newborn calves as well as non-lethal diarrhoea of calves aged 6-7 weeks. In a follow-up study, 50 calves born consecutively were tested weekly till 8 weeks old for diarrhoea by faecal examination and for rotavirus excretion by ELISA. Serum antibodies were determined by CF. Rotavirus was shown to persist in this herd in widely disseminated form, in seasonal waves, peaking during the second week of age. The first week of life and the third, in this order, ranked next in frequency of dissemination. Silent, non-clinical rotavirus excretion also occurred frequently in calves 1-3 weeks old. All calves had maternal antibodies in their blood serum. Careful colostral feeding during the first week postponed rotavirus excretion, and the feeding of milk replacer from day 8 onwards accounted for the peak of rotavirus infection in the second week of life. It proved impossible to assess the role of rotavirus in high-frequency diarrhoea.