Pestivirus is a common contaminant in maedi-visna and caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus stocks

Eight different laboratory stocks of maedi-visna or caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus were examined for the presence of pestiviruses by a fixed-cell immunoperoxidase assay with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. All of the viral stocks examined were found to contain noncytopathic pestivirus contaminants. The panel of monoclonal antibodies could not type the isolates as being more related to bovine virus diarrhea virus or border disease virus. However, the results did indicate that all isolates were not the same, except for two from the same laboratory where the source of pestivirus contamination may have been common.