Animal Disease Research Unit USDA-ARS
This site is dedicated to Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF), on
which a major research effort has been underway for about 15
years at Washington State University (WSU). The site includes
a general description of the disease, detailed information about
work done here, recent research progress here and elsewhere,
information relating to MCF diagnosis and control, and links to
other sources of MCF information.
MCF, a disease syndrome primarily of ruminant species, is
caused by a member of an expanding group of Rhadinoviruses in
the Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily. These viruses exist
in nature as inapparent infections in well-adapted ruminants
that act as reservoir hosts. MCF is increasingly being
recognized as the cause of significant economic losses in
several major ruminant species, including cattle, bison and
deer, as well as a threat to certain threatened species held in
mixed-species confinement. Most cases in the U.S. are caused by
the virus known as ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2), which exists as
a ubiquitous subclinical infection in domestic sheep.
Historically, control of MCF has been hampered by a lack of
knowledge of its etiology, epidemiology, and pathogenesis. That
is changing. This site is designed to help persons interested
in MCF to stay abreast of the developments underlying that
change.
MCF research at Washington State University is funded by the
USDA
Agricultural Research Service (ARS), by Washington State
University, and through extramural grants. It is conducted
through a joint effort by the Animal Disease Research Unit,
USDA-ARS and the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and
Pathology, WSU. Other actively collaborating institutions
include the University of Wyoming, the US Sheep Experiment
Station, and several other institutes in North America and
Europe.
The overall purpose of the project is to generate information
needed to understand and control MCF. The objectives are to
develop improved diagnostic methods for the MCF virus group, to
define the disease’s etiology, epidemiology and pathogenesis, to
propagate OvHV-2 in vitro, and to develop methods for MCF
control.
