Prevalence of Rotaviruses in Québec Dairy Calves and Evaluation of Diagnostic Tests

Abstract

Rotavirus is an important cause of diarrhea in newborn cattle. The rotaviruses involved are typically of group A, and cause diarrhea in calves 4 to 14 days old. The isolation of rotaviruses has been reported in 44% of diarrheic calves and in 14% of healthy calves. The prevalence of rotavirus excretion has not been estimated in Quebec dairy calves. The objectives of this study were 1) to estimate prevalence of rotaviruses in feces of neonatal dairy calves, and 2) to compare 3 tests for detection of rotaviruses in fecal samples.