AHRI report No.34

The Use of the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction for the Detection of Bovine Ephemeral Fever Epidemic in Taiwan in 1996 

Taiwan Animal Health Research Institute The Branch Institute of Animal Drugs Inspection

A reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction ( RT-PCR ) assay was developed for the detection of bovine ephemeral fever virus ( BEFV ). Two primer sets, BEFV-Pl I BEFV-P2 and BEFV-P3 / BEFV-P4, were used for the RT-PCR. Two DNA fragment, 824 bp and of 255 bp, could be specifically amplified respectively. Both Taiwan isolates and Japan isolate of BEFV could be detected positively. The sensitivity ofRT-PCR with primers BEFV-Pl I BEFV-P2 for the detection of BEFV was 10⁴ TCID₅₀ The sensitivity increased 10⁴-fold when a pair of nested primers BEFV-P3 / BEFV-P4 was used. Twenty-one out of 31 ( 67.74 % ) samples, suspected of BEF infection, were diagnosed positive by this method, and two isolates of BEFV were isolated in this epidemic occurrence. 

Polymerase chain reaction, Bovine ephemeral fever, Taiwan