DETECTION OF BOVINE HERPESVIRUS-1 IN CLINICAL-SAMPLES BY THE POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION

A PCR assay with primers selected from the gl gene and flanking a 468 bp DNA fragment was tested on clinical samples. Of 27 samples (nasal s wabs, lung, lymph nodes, tracheal mucosa) collected from 16 different outbreaks in Scotland, 18 were positive by PCR and 13 by virus isolati on. Some samples of isolated DNA had to be diluted by a factor 50-100 to obtain a positive PCR result. PCR assay could detect the BHV-1 posi tive samples collected from different European regions, namely from Sl ovakia, Italy, England, Scotland as well as the IPV sample.