Border disease like syndrome in lambs: antibodies to hog cholera and bovine viral diarrhea viruses

Serum samples were collected from fetal and newborn lambs with a naturally occurring border disease like syndrome and from lambs inoculated with brainspleen suspensions obtained from affected lambs. Serum neutralization (SN) tests for antibodies to bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) and hog cholera viruses and the single radial immunodiffusion assay for quantitating immunoglobulin G (IgG) were performed. In precolostral samples, serum IgG content was less than 0.10 mg./ml. in control lambs and ranged from 0.10 to 1.1 mg./ml. in affected lambs; postcolostral values exceeded 7.5 mg./ml. Serum neutralizing antibodies to hog cholera were detected in all of 13 samples examined, the titers ranging from 1:4 to 1:1,024. Serum neutralizing antibodies to BVD were found in 8 of 13 samples that had titers to hog cholera.