Reactivation of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus by transport

Transport was studied as a cause of reactivation of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (Bovine herpesvirus-1; BHV-1) in heifers vaccinated 2-6 months before transport, using a double dose of the thermosensitive (ts) vaccine strain (Tracherine). Eight out of 19 animals showed ts strain re-excretion over a period of 1-3 days, beginning, in 5 out of the 8 heifers, the day after transport. In 14 other heifers, only sera were examined by sero-neutralisation: only 1 out of these 14 animals showed a rise in BHV-1 neutralising antibodies. Transport can therefore be considered as a stimulus of BHV-1 reactivation.