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Pathogen Page

Bovine coronavirus

I. General Information

1. NCBI Taxonomy ID:

2. Introduction

Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) is a member of the genus Coronavirus, family Coronaviridae. This genus has been divided into three groups according to its genetic and serological properties. Group 2, to which BCoV belongs, contains mammalian and avian viruses, such as mouse hepatitis virus, chicken enteric coronavirus, sialodacryadenitis virus, porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus, and human coronavirus (HCoV) OC43. The BCoV virion is enveloped and spherical in shape. The genome is a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA molecule of 27 to 32 kb. It includes 13 open reading frames (ORFs) flanked by 5' and 3' untranslated regions, and some of the ORFs overlap, whereas others are separated by intergenic sequences. BCoV was first associated with diarrhea in newborn calves and later with winter dysentery in adult cattle. It is now considered an important pathogen causing enteric disease, often in combination with respiratory clinical signs. Fatal respiratory disease caused by BCoV has been reported in young stock. BCoV infections often result in high morbidity but usually in low mortality. The same virus strain can cause disease in both calves and adults, and the animal often sheds virus in both nasal secretions and feces. Although several investigations have focused on discriminating the features of different virus strains causing calf diarrhea, winter dysentery, or respiratory disease, no clear markers have been established. Their separation is complicated, since differences in clinical signs might also rely on host factors (Liu et al., 2006).

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