STUDIES ON BOVINE ROTAVIRUS IN NEWBORN CALVES

Abstract

Diarhoeal diseases are considered of the most important causes of death, in both man and animals particularly in the early stage of life. The major problem in calf husbandry is enteritis which causes great economic losses wide world among newborn calves.

Most of the literatures on calf diarrhoea, up to 1965, incriminated Escherichia coli as the primary pathogen of neonatal calf diarrhoea. In fact many factors are involved in the diarrhoeic cases, primary and secondary variables including diet, colostrum deprivation, management sanitation, stress, bacteria and viruses. Several calf problems have different etiological combinations of these factors.

Most of the recent studies were directed towards the isolation and identification of viruses which cause diarrhoea among newborn calves.

Rotaviruses are ubiquitous pathogens that represent a major cause of acute enteritis among young individuals of mammalian species (Ester et a!., 1983). Because of the ubiquity of rotavirus in cattle populations, newborn calves yet remain susceptible to infection with rotavirus in the first few weeks of life (Mebus eta!., 1973) and they were shown to be one of the most important agents of neonatal diarrhoea in calves (Tzipori, 1985).

Since the first description of bovine rotavirus in 1969, substantial evidence has accumulated to implicate this group of viruses as the cause of neonatal diarrhoea among calves, other animals and in humans.

The clinical manifestation of rotavirus illness are not sufficiently distinctive for diagnosis. The epidemiologic pattern may suggest the diagnosis, but laboratory confirmation is strongly required. Therefore,