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Bovine herpesvirus 2 (BoHV-2, BHV-2) Life >
viruses > Double Strand DNA Viruses > Head-Tail viruses
> Herpesvirales > Herpesviridae > Alphaherpesvirinae > Genus:
Simplexvirus
Causes two diseases in cattle:
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Bovine herpes mammillitis (BHM) (= Bovine ulcerative
mamillitis). Characterised by ulcers,
fluid-filled blisters and scabs on the teats and udders of dairy cattle.
Mainly encountered in more temperate regions of the World (e.g. UK). Only
occurs in late summer and early autumn. This disease is rarely encountered
in South Africa (Gibbs 2004).
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Pseudo-lumpy skin disease (PLSD) (= Allerton disease). First discovered in South
Africa (Alexander et al. 1957). Characterised by nodules on the skin, including on the face and the
area around the genitals and anus (perineum). A more serious disease, called
Lumpy skin disease (caused by
Lumpy skin disease virus in the genus
Capripoxvirus) has similar symptoms.
These diseases have a minimal impact on the cattle industry
as a whole but for a farmer facing an outbreak, it can mean the difference
between making a profit or a loss for that year (Gibbs 2004).
It is suspected that Bovine herpesvirus 2 is
transmitted mechanically by blood-sucking insects (mechanical transmission is
usually where infected blood from one animal is transferred to the next on the
mouthparts of the insect). The strong seasonality of the disease and the fact
that affected animals are often in low lying, moist areas where biting flies are
dominant, suggests that insects are mechanical vectors of these diseases (Gibbs
2004).
The following African mammals that occur in southern Africa
have been recorded with neutralizing antibodies to Bovine herpesvirus 2 in their
blood (listed in order of decreasing incidence). There is no evidence of these
species showing disease symptoms characteristic of this virus.
The following animals did NOT have neutralizing antibodies
to Bovine herpesvirus 2 in their blood (number of animals sampled in square
brackets):
Tragelaphus angasii (Nyala) [n = 1];
Kobus leche (Lechwe)
[n = 95];
Kobus vardonii (Puku) [n = 16, all from Zambia];
Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi (Blesbok)
[n = 4];
Oreotragus oreotragus
(Klipspringer) [n = 1];
Ourebia ourebi (Oribi)
[n = 3];
Raphicerus campestris (Steenbok)
[n = 8];
Raphicerus
melanotis (Grysbok, Cape grysbok) [n = 5];
Sylvicapra grimmia
(Common duiker) [n = 37];
Loxodonta africana
(African elephant) [n = 351];
Equus quagga (Plains zebra)
[n = 39];
Panthera leo (Lion) [n = 3];
Crocuta crocuta
(Spotted hyaena) [n = 5];
Lycaon pictus (African wild dog)
[n = 2];
Felis silvestris cafra (African wild cat);
Civettictis civetta (African civet);
Lepus capensis (Cape
hare) [n = 10];
Leptailurus serval
(Serval) [n = 1];
Pedetes capensis
(Springhare) [n = 16];
Hystrix africaeaustralis (Cape porcupine).
Links
Publications (by date)
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Alexander RA, Plowright W, Haig DA. 1957. Cytopathogenic agents
associated with lumpy skin disease of cattle. Bulletin Epizootic Diseases of
Africa 5: 489-492.
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Hamblin C, Hedger RS. 1982. Prevalence of neutralizing antibodies to bovid
herpesvirus 2 in African wildlife. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 18: 429-436.
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Gibbs EPJ. 2004. Bovine herpesvirus 2 infections. In: Infectious Diseases of
Livestock 2nd Edition Volume 2 (eds Coetzer JAW, Tustin RC). Oxford
University Press, Cape Town, pp. 887-894.
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Bitsch V. 2011. Epidemiology and pathogenesis of the Bovine
herpesvirus 2 (BoHV-2) infection. ISBN
978-87-994685-0-8 (accessible online)
Text by Hamish G. Robertson
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