Abstract

A wasting disease in moose (Alces alces) has killed more than one thousand animals in a densely populated, limited geographical area in Sweden. To investigate the cause, local environmental conditions were studied and infectious agents, mainly viruses, were looked for. A virus, identified as a retrovirus, has repeatedly been isolated from diseased animals by cocultivation of their leukocytes with fetal moose kidney cells. The virus has the characteristics of a member of the Oncovirinae subfamily, as deduced from its morphology from EM studies, reverse transcriptase activity, cell transforming properties, and serological cross-reactivity with other oncoviruses. Striking features of the disease are the poor and transient capacity of affected moose to respond serologically in addition to the frequent presence of high levels of reverse transcriptase activity in their sera. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.

Keywords

BOVINE LEUKEMIA-VIRUS

Published in

Virology
1994, Volume: 202, number: 2, pages: 956-961
Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS INC JNL-COMP SUBSCRIPTIONS

SLU Authors

• Steen, Margareta

  • Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

Animal health (until May 2010)


UKÄ Subject classification

Microbiology


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/viro.1994.1418

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/69960