Antibodies to Pathogenic Livestock Viruses in a Wild Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) Population in the Argentinean Andean Altiplano

Abstract

Serum samples from 128 wild vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) were tested for antibodies (Ab) to Rotavirus (RV), Parainfluenza-3 virus (PI-3V), Bovine Herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1), Bovine Viral Diarrhea virus (BVDV-1), Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), Bluetongue virus (BTV), Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and Equine Influenza A virus (EIV). The samples were collected in Cieneguillas Province of Jujuy, in northern Argentina. Feces from forty-four vicuñas were also collected to investigate RV shedding. Llamas (Lama glama) and domestic cattle (Bos taurus) from the area studied were sampled for serological evidence of the same viral infections. Antibodies (Ab) against RV (100%) and PI-3V (37%) were detected in the vicuñas sampled. No RV antigen was detected in any of the fecal samples tested. One vicuña was positive for Ab to BHV-1 (0.78%) and another for BVDV-1 (0.78%). The Ab prevalences detected in llamas were: 100% (16/16) for RV, 47% (8/17) for PI-3V, 17.6% (3/17) for BHV-1 and 5.88% (1/17) for BVDV-1. However, domestic cattle showed high seroprevalences for RV and PI-3V, 100% (13/13) and 73.3% (11/15), respectively, but were negative for Ab to BHV-1 and BVDV. No Ab against FMDV, BTV, EHV-1 or EIV were detected in wild vicuñas or domestic species. Since no data of viral circulation on wild vicuñas were available, this report represents the first evidence of viral infection in wild vicuñas from the Argentinean Andean Puna and it will be an approach for future serological studies.