Detection of bovine viral diarrhea virus in captive wild artiodactyls in Mexico

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a pestivirus that infects a broad range of wild and domestic artiodactyls. Pestiviruses can cause a variety of respiratory, gastrointestinal and reproductive disorders that generate substantial losses in the livestock industry. Sharing of water and food sources between wild and domestic populations increases the risk of interspecies pestivirus transmission. Monitoring pestivirus prevalence in both population types is vital. No data is currently available on pestivirus genetic diversity in wild artiodactyl populations in Mexico. Isolation and genetic analysis were done for BVDV from serum samples collected from 371 captive wild artiodactyls in four regions in central and eastern Mexico. Samples from two water buffaloes and one fallow deer were positive for BVDV by RT-PCR. Phylogenetic analysis of the amplified sequences placed them in BVDV subgenotype 1b. A cytopathic strain was isolated from the deer sample. This is the first report of bovine viral diarrhea virus in wild artiodactyls in Mexico and the first to identify the virus subtype.