A Review of Bovine Leukosis

Abstract

Bovine leukosis was first recognized in Europe in the latter part of the 19th century. During the early l 900's, clinical reports of the disease continued to appear in the veterinary literature, not only in Europe but also in the United States. Veterinarians in Germany observed that many epidemiologic features of leukosis suggested it might be infectious, i.e., cases were clustered in certain herds and in limited geographic regions, and the disease was spreading from these herds or areas into previously leukosis-free cattle populations. The
remainder of this paper will deal solely with the bovine leukemia virus (BL V), its characteristics, transmission, diagnosis, oncogenicity, and significance to the cattle industry of the United States.