Seroprevalence of small ruminant lentivirus infection in Ontario goat herds

Small ruminant lentiviruses (SLRV) are major production limiting diseases of sheep and goats and are major source of economic loss to producers. There is currently no treatment or vaccine, and the prevalence of SRLV infection across the Ontario is unknown. A preliminary study of 45 Ontario goat herds was used to estimate the prevalence of SRLV infection. Blood was sampled and analyzed with an ELISA test for the presence of SRLV-specific antibodies as an indirect indicator of infection. Additionally, a telephone survey was conducted to identify management factors that are associated with prevalence of infection. The prevalence of SRLV in the 482 goats from 30 dairy goat farms was estimated to be 80.4% and 17.0% from the 225 goats on 15 meat goat farms. Significant differences were found between both prevalence and antibody levels risk in young (≤12 months) and older (>12 months) goats in the dairy sector with older goats slowing a greater prevalence and higher antibody levels as farm risk increased. In the meat sector, there was also a significant difference between antibody levels and risk between young and older goats, however, older meat goats tended to have lower antibody levels than younger goats.