TEMPORAL STABILITY OF THE VIRUS LOAD OF CATTLE INFECTED WITH BOVINE LEUKEMIA-VIRUS

The relative virus load of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infected cattle was measured by an immunoperoxidase infectivity assay (IPIA), and by immunoperoxidase staining of cultured leukocytes using a monoclonal an tibody to the capsid protein (p24) of BLV. The results of paired sampl e data taken at different time points spanning 2-3 years show that BLV -infected cattle are stable regarding the amount of BLV produced by th eir peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Spearman's Rank Correl ation demonstrated significant relationships between data from individ ual cattle taken at four different time points. In addition, this stud y documents the large range of variation in the virus load of individu al cattle.