Malignant Catarrhal Fever caused by Ovine Herpesvirus-2 in a cow

Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) has been defined as a viral disease of domestic cattle and wild ruminants. We report a case of MCF caused by ovine herpesvirus-2 (OvHV-2) in a 4-year-old female Holstein cow. Microscopic examination showed that fibrinoid necrotic vasculitis in all tissues and organs; inflammatory changes in the vessel walls of the brain (pons, cerebrum and meninges); ulcerative changes in the oral mucosa; mild inflammatory cell infiltrations around the glomeruli and interstitium in the cortex of the kidney; widespread edema between the muscle bundles in the heart. PCR was performed to determine the presence of ovine herpesvirus-2 nucleic acids and 386 bp product was obtained by primer sequences that replicated the Pol gene region of OvHV-2. This PCR finding confirmed our diagnosis as sheep-associated MCF (SA-MCF).