An experimental study on the vertical transmission of caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus from naturally infected females to their offspring

Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis is a cosmopolitan disease that affects small ruminant production and causes economic losses. Although the virus has been identified in different parts of the female reproductive tract, including the uterus, there is a lack of studies that discussed its vertical transmission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the transmission of caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) from naturally infected females to their offspring. Five known positive goats for CAEV were artificially inseminated with fresh semen obtained from a known negative male for CAEV. After parturition, twelve kids were followed for 12 months, and the vertical transmission of CAEV was studied by applying agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID), competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) and nested-polimerase chain reaction (nested-PCR). From a total of 12 kids, six were positive in nested-PCR. None of them was positive in cELISA and AGID. This study demonstrated the vertical transmission of caprine arthritis encephalitis virus to the kids. The presence of infected females must be avoided due to the rapid spread of the virus and the economic losses associated with the infection.