Serological evidence for high prevalence of Influenza D Viruses in Cattle, Nebraska, United States, 2003-2004

Influenza D virus (IDV), a new member of the influenza virus family, was first reported in 2011 in swine in Oklahoma, USA, and then soon found in cattle across North America and Eurasia. Earlier studies suggested cattle serve as natural reservoir for IDV. The goal of this study is to perform a retrospective study looking at sera collected from Nebraska beef herds in 2003-2004 and 2014 for evidence of IDV antibodies. Results showed that all 40 randomly selected farms (2003-2004) we tested contained IDV seropositive adult animals and that approximately 98% of newborn calves (2014) had high levels of maternal antibodies against IDV. This study suggested that IDV exposures were present in Nebraska beef cattle since at least 2003.