Detection of seroconversion to bovine herpesvirus 1 related alphaherpesvirus and bovine viral diarrhea virusin Polish free-living deer.

There are several infectious agents of domestic cattle that can also be present in free-living ruminant populations. These include bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) and bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) which are the causative agents of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and bovine viral diarrhea, respectively. The study was conducted on serum samples from 59 red deer, 24 roe deer, and 3 fallow deer (86 in total), originating from two geographically separate areas of Poland. The samples were tested with commercially available ELISA tests for BoHV-1 and BVDV. The overall seroprevalence was 5.8% and 3.5%, respectively. All positive samples originated exclusively from red deer. Because of BoHV-1 ELISA cross reactivity with cervid herpesvirus 1 and 2 (CvHV-1 and -2) the nature of alphaherpesviruses infecting the sampled animals could not be assessed.