Prevalence of small ruminant lentivirus and subsp. co-infection in Ontario dairy sheep and dairy goats.

Infection with small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) causes a variety of chronic inflammatory conditions that limit production. subsp. (MAP) is also a major production-limiting disease of sheep and goats, which causes severe inflammation of the small intestine.

Immunogenetics of small ruminant lentiviral infections.

The small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) include the caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) and the Maedi-Visna virus (MVV). Both of these viruses limit production and can be a major source of economic loss to producers. Little is known about how the immune system recognizes and responds to SRLVs, but due to similarities with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), HIV research can shed light on the possible immune mechanisms that control or lead to disease progression.