Isolation of border disease virus from twin lambs in Alberta

We describe herein a field case of border disease (BD) in twin lambs. Both lambs were unthrifty, stunted, and one exhibited nervous signs characteristic of BD, with tremors of the head, neck, hind legs, and pelvis. Hairiness of the coat and excessive pigmentation, often seen in lambs with BD, were not observed. A noncytopathic virus, which showed cross-reactivity with bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus antiserum and BVD virus monoclonal antibodies, was isolated repeatedly from leukocytes from one lamb and from tissues of the other. Although the source of the virus is unknown, our results suggest that the dam of the affected twins had been infected during pregnancy. We used the BD virus isolated to inoculate pregnant ewes and experimentally reproduce the disease in a newborn lamb. Our findings indicate that leukocytes, rather than serum, should be utilized for BD virus isolation. Further, it is recommended that BD virus, rather than BVD virus, be used in serum neutralization tests when screening sheep for antibody titers.