First Report of Bovine Rotavirus From Kerala

R. Ambily²*, M. Mini¹, K. John²  G. K. Nair²

¹Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookot, Lakkidi P.O., Wayanad - 673 576 India.

²Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, Kerala - 680 651 India.

Corresponding Author E-mail: ambilysathiadevan@yahoo.co.in

ABSTRACT: A study was conducted to detect the prevalence of rotavirus in diarrhoeic calves in Thrissur district, Kerala. Some of the cattle herds had a history of recurrent diarrhoea. The methods adopted were Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), Ribonucleic Acid –Poly Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (RNA-PAGE) followed by silver staining and Agar Gel Immuno Diffusion (AGID). Among 124 diarrheic faecal samples collected during a period of two years, 29 (23.39 per cent) were detected as positive by RNA-PAGE, 35 (28.23 per cent) samples by RT-PCR and 16 (12.90 per cent) by AGID. The clustered arrangement of the 11 segments of the genome showed a 4:2:3:2 migration pattern, typical of group A bovine rotavirus. RT-PCR was conducted using genome segment 4 (VP4 gene) specific primers. Among the various tests employed, RT-PCR was found to be more sensitive in the diagnosis of Bovine rota viral (BRV) infections. It was found that the occurrence of infection was most common in zero to two weeks of age (39.39 per cent) followed by two to four weeks of age (37.04 per cent).

KEYWORDS: Bovine rota virus; calves; silver staining; RT-PCR

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