The detection of ovine herpesvirus-2 in reservoir host of malignant catarrhal fever in Indonesia by means of polymerase chain reaction

English. Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a fatal disease affecting large ruminants, some wild animals and pigs. Ovine herpesvirus-2 (OHV-2) is the causal agent of sheep-associated MCF (SA-MCF). In Indonesia, sheep is epidemiologically implicated in the occurrence of MCF. Providing a sensitive and specific molecular biological technique, i.e. polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a wide range of MCF aspects on molecular level have been developed. The PCR has been successfully used to detect OHV-2 fragment in sheep samples such as peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) of sheep, nasal secretion of a sheep lamb, and organs of some sheep lambs. Fragment of OHV-2 was also detected in PBL of goats from some areas in Indonesia but not in PBL of pigs from Bali. These results suggest that sheep and sheep lambs are the potential reservoir hosts of MCF in Indonesia, while the role of goats as reservoir host of MCF has yet to be determined

unknown. Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) merupakan penyakit fatal pada ruminansia besar, beberapa hewan liar dan babi. Ovine herpesvirus-2 (OHV-2) adalah agen penyebab sheep-associated MCF (SA-MCF). Di Indonesia, secara epidemiologik domba dikaitkan dengan kejadian MCF, kemudian setelah dikembangkan uji biologi molekular yang sensitif dan spesifik, yaitu polymerase chain reaction (PCR), maka aspek biologi molekular MCF banyak terungkap. Uji PCR tersebut telah berhasil digunakan untuk mendeteksi fragmen OHV-2 pada sampel domba seperti peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) domba, sekresi hidung anak domba dan organ anak domba. Fragmen OHV-2 tersebut juga dapat dideteksi pada PBL kambing yang berasal dari beberapa daerah di Indonesia, tetapi tidak ditemukan pada PBL babi yang berasal dari Bali. Hasil penelitian ini dapat diduga bahwa domba dan anak domba merupakan hewan reservoir yang potensial bagi MCF, sedangkan keterkaitan kambing sebagai hewan reservoir MCF belum dapat ditetapkan