Prevalence of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) infections in cattle population in Poland

The aim of the study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of BRSV in cattle in Poland. For the study, 3070 blood samples from cattle of both sexes were collected between 2007 and 2011. None of the animals had been vaccinated against BRSV. The samples came from animals from the whole area of Poland, which was divided into the following 4 macroregions: I - southern Poland, II - central Poland, III - western Poland and IV - north-eastern Poland. The samples were tested by the ELISA BRSV Ab test. The presence of BRSV antibodies was found in 61.4% of animals. Significant differences in the prevalence of BRSV infections were observed, depending on the origin of samples. The highest rate of infection (80.4%) was found in western Poland, and the lowest (29.6%) in southern Poland. The percentage of infected animals differed significantly between different age groups. Seropositive animals constituted, 54.9% of the group under 2 years of age and 66.1% of the older group. This study shows that BRSV infections are widespread in Poland and could have an important impact on the health status of cattle herds.