Examination of adenovirus-types in intestinal vascular endothelial inclusions in fatal cases of enteric disease in cattle, by in situ hybridisation

There have been occasional reports in the literature of a severe naturally occurring enteric disease of cattle in which adenoviral inclusions were fou nd in intestinal vascular endothelium. Bovine adenovirus type 10 (BAV-10) w as identified by in situ hybridisation (ISH) in the inclusions of all 13 su ch cattle detected in Northern Ireland [Smyth, J.A., Benko, M., Moffett, D. A., Harrach, B., 1996. J. Clin. Microbiol, 34, 1270-1274]. The present pape r describes ISH examination of the vascular endothelial inclusion bodies in a further seventeen cattle with enteric disease, from Canada, Great Britai n, Italy and The Netherlands. BAV-10 was identified in the inclusions of te n cases, and Subgroup 2 BAVs in six cases. BAV-10 was identified in cattle from Canada, the Netherlands and Great Britain. This is the first recogniti on of BAV-10 infection outside Northern Ireland and New Zealand. The result s also show that at least two adenovirus serotypes may induce inclusion bod ies in intestinal vascular endothelium of cattle. It will, therefore, be di fficult in the short term to develop a simple test to allow diagnosis of th is form of adenoviral infection in living animals, and thus to determine th e relationship between it and clinical disease. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.