EXOone Bovine Coronavirus

Description

Bovine Coronavirus (BCoV) is an important pathogen of livestock causing neonatal calf diarrhea and winter disentery in adult cattle. The virus is also implicated in respiratory tract infections of growing calves and shipping fever pneumonia in feedlot cattle. There are reports that some BCoV virus strains may also be responsible for simultaneous enteric and respiratory tract infections. Although BCoV infections rarely causes death, economic losses are significant in cattle industries due to veterinary costs and poor productivity of affected animals.

Several methods are available for the traditional diagnosis of BCoV infection, including electron microscopy, virus isolation, hemagglutination; but these procedures are difficult and time-consuming. Real time RT-PCR offers a suitable alternative since they are faster, simpler yet maintain the higher performance and accuracy required for conclusive rapid diagnosis of field outbreaks.