ABBREVIATIONS ACE BC BSL2 BT BVDV IHC MDBK P1 TCID Antigen-capture ELISA Buff y coat Biosafety level 2 Bovine turbinate Bovine viral diarrhea virus (and also the bovine viral diarrhea virus species within the pestivirus genus) 1mm u noh istoch em ica I Madin-Darby bovine kidney Persistently infected Tissue culture infective dose Reproductive tract disease associated with inoculation of pregnant white-tailed deer with bovine viral diarrhea virus Julia E Ridpath, PhD; Elizabeth A. Driskell, DVM; Christopher C. L. Chase, DVM, PhD; John D. Neill, PhD; Mitchell V Palmer, DVM, PhD; Bruce W. Brodersen, DVM, PhD Objective—To inoculate white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virgin/anus) during the sixth or sev- enth week of gestation with bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and observe for signs of reproductive tract disease during a 182-day period. Animals-10 pregnant white-tailed deer (8 seronegative and 2 seropositive [control deer] for BVDV(. Procedures—Deer were inoculated with 1 of 2 deer-derived BVDV strains (R03-20663 or R03-24272). Serum anti-BVDV antibody titers were determined prior to and 21 or 35 days after inoculation. Virus isolation (VI) procedures were performed on tissues from fetuses and does that died and on blood samples collected from live fawns. Ear notch specimens obtained from live fawns were assessed by use of BVDV antigen-capture ELISA (ACE). Results—Both R03-20663-inoculated seropositive deer gave birth to apparently normal fawns. Among the R03-24272-inoculated seronegative deer, 1 died, and 1 aborted and 1 resorbed their fetuses; among the R03-20663-inoculated seronegative deer, 3 died, 1 aborted its fetus, and 1 gave birth to 2 fawns that were likely persistently infected. On the basis of VI and ACE results, those 2 fawns were positive for BVDV; both had no detectable neutralizing anti-BVDV antibodies in serum. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Reproductive tract disease that developed in preg- nant white-tailed deer following BVDV inoculation was similar to that which develops in BVDV-exposed cattle. Methods developed for BVDV detection in cattle (VI, immunohisto- chemical evaluations, and ACE) can be applied in assessments of white-tailed deer. Fawns from does that had serum anti-BVDV antibodies prior to inoculation were protected against BVDV infection in utero. (Am J Vet Res 2008;69:1630-1636( B ovine viral diarrhea viruses are the causative agent of reproductive, gastrointestinal, and respiratory tract diseases in cattle that result in major losses to the beef and dairy industries. These viruses belong to 2 dif- ferent species within the pestivirus genus, BVDV1 and BVDV2. The primary consequences of reproductive tract disease arc attributable to direct infection of the fetus, and the outcome depends on the stage of gesta- tion in which the fetal infection occurs. i Although abor- tions and weak neonates have been attributed to BVDV infection of cows during late gestation, infections that Received September 13, 2007. Accepted March 12, 2008. From the Virus and Prion Diseases of Livestock Research Unit (Rid- path, Driskell, Neill) and the Bacterial Diseases of Livestock Re- search Unit (Palmer), National Animal Disease Center, USDA Ag- ricultural Research Service, Ames, IA 50010; the Department of Veterinary Science, Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Labo- ratory, South Dakota State Univcrsity, Brookings, SD 57007 (Chase); and the Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Department, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583 (Brodersen). Dr. Driskell's present address is Veterinary Pathology Deparunent, Coltege of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. The authors thank Bruce Gray; Nathan Hansen. Ryan Whipplc, Ra- chel Renshaw, Johann Theil, Dr. Jean Laufer. and Patricia Federico for technical assistance. Address correspondence to Dr. Rictpath. develop earlier during gestation generally have greater impact on reproduction. In cattle, fetal infections that develop between 42 and 125 days of gestation result in fetal resorption, mummification, abortion, congenital malformations, or the establishment of PT animals. Per- sistently infected cattle are considered the main vector for introduction of the virus to naive herds. Bovine viral diarrhea virus also replicates in white- tailed deer (Odocoil€'us vitgiuiw1us). Free-ranging white-tailed deer populations are frequently in contact with domestic cattle in the United States; therefore, possible transfer of BVDV between cattle and deer has important implications for proposed BVDV control pro- 1630AJVR, Vol 69, No. 12, December 2008