Serological Study of Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) Infection in Slaughtered Buffalo in Ahvaz

Bovine enzootic leukosis is an important viral disease of cattle with a worldwide distribution. The disease is caused by a virus (Bovine leukemia virus; BLV) of the genus deltaretrovirus within the family Retroviridae. BLV can cause persistent lymphocytosis, malignant lymphoma and leukemia by impairing the proliferation of lymphoid cells. Due to lack of a proper vaccine or treatment, BLV infections cause huge economic losses and costs for the control and eradication programs. Programs to control the BLV infections are based on the screening of animals by serological methods and removing the infected animals. Due to the possibility for transmission of BLV to buffalos, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of BLV infection within the slaughtered buffaloes at Ahvaz abattoir. Therefore, blood samples were collected from a total of 529 buffaloes, including 261 female and 268 male animals and assayed by ELISA. Based on the results, only one animal (0.18%), a female buffalo of 8 years old was found to be positive for BLV specific antibodies. The results of this study are in agreement with the results of other researchers reporting a low prevalence of BLV infections in buffalo.