Pathology of Viral Diseases in Ruminants

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the etiology, pathogenesis, and pathology of major viral diseases in ruminants as presented in the lecture notes.

Rinderpest (Cattle plague)

A highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals caused by a virus in the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Morbillivirus, which was globally eradicated in 2011.

Zebra striping

A pathological lesion characterized by linear engorgement and haemorrhages of the longitudinal folds of the large intestine, typically seen in Rinderpest.

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV)

A virus in the family Flaviviridae, genus Pestivirus, classified into genotypes type 1 and type 2, and biotypes cytopathogenic (cp) or noncytopathogenic (ncp).

Persistently infected (PI) calves

Calves born to dams infected with ncp BVDV during the first trimester (approximately $25-90$ days of gestation) that shed large amounts of virus and fail to develop an antibody response.

Mucosal disease

A fatal condition developing only in PI cattle, associated with the appearance of a cytopathogenic BVDV biotype arising from the mutation of a circulating noncytopathogenic strain.

Bovine ephemeral fever

Also known as "3 day sickness," it is caused by an arbovirus in the family Rhabdoviridae, genus Ephemerovirus, characterized by shifting lameness and a fever typically lasting $1-2$ days.

Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR)

An infectious disease of cattle due to bovine herpesvirus-1 that primarily affects the upper respiratory tract and can establish latent infections in the nervous system.

Rift Valley fever (RVF)

A zoonotic disease caused by a virus in the family Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus, where the liver is the primary target organ, leading to focal or generalised hepatic necrosis.

Bovine vesicular stomatitis

A disease caused by a member of the family Rhabdoviridae, genus Vesiculovirus, with two distinct immunological classes: New Jersey (NJ) and Indiana (IND).

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)

A fatal, progressive central nervous system disease of cattle caused by a prion, characterized by bilateral and symmetrical vacuolisation of gray matter neuropil.

NSP4

A viral enterotoxin produced by Rotavirus that contributes to the mechanism of disease and severe electrolyte imbalances in newborn calves.

Bovine leukaemia virus (BLV)

A retrovirus that causes Bovine leucosis; most infected animals remain asymptomatic, while approximately $29\%$ develop persistent lymphocytosis and $<5\%$ develop lymphosarcoma.

Orf

A zoonotic disease caused by the Orf virus (genus Parapoxvirus) also known as contagious pustular dermatitis, scabby mouth, or contagious ecthyma.

Blue tongue

A disease caused by an Orbivirus in the family Reoviridae, transmitted by Culicoides vectors, where the virus replicates in mononuclear phagocytic cells, endothelial cells, and lymphocytes.

31/03/2025

The date recorded on the lecture notes regarding the pathology of infectious and non-infectious viral diseases.

OIE

The organization created in 1924 in order to help eradicate Rinderpest.