Genetic heterogeneity of bovine viral diarrhoea viruses from Spain

Forty-four bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) isolates collected from the north of Spain between 1989 and 2000 were characterised at the molecular level. For 24 of these isolates the entire N-pro gene sequence was determined. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 21 isolates belong to subgroup BVDV-1b, while two BVDV-1c isolates and one BVDV-1h isolate were found. Furthermore, 20 additional virus isolates were analysed by differential reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and classified as BVDV-1. The results from our study demonstrate that BVDV-1b is the most prevalent subgroup present in bovine dairy herds of Spain, while there is no evidence for the presence of BVDV-2. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.