Prevalence of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in Aborted Bovine Fetuses in Korea

Several efforts have been made to eradicate bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) in Korea. However, there is still insufficient information on how the BVD virus (BVDV) affects bovine abortion. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of BVDV, and age of fetuses with BVDV infection in 350 aborted fetuses from 314 farms submitted to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency in Korea from 2008-2017. Histopathologically, all fetal tissues were autologous, or had no specific lesions. BVDV was detected in 83 (23.7%) fetuses from 77 (24.5%) farms by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and revealed more than 30% higher detection rates in Chungnam and Gyeongbuk provinces compared to other regions, based on both total data and farm-associated analyses. Estimated age of fetuses with BVDV infection by converting the measured crown-rump length into fetal age showed that most cases occurred with abortions being induced during fetal period considered to be middle and late stage abortions. These results suggest that in order to successfully eradicate BVD in Korea, control programs such as vaccination and enhanced biosecurity should be applied to prevent fetal infections.