Use of corticosteroids to isolate IBR virus from cattle in Cyprus after respiratory disease and ataxia.

An outbreak of ataxia, blindness, respiratory disease and kerato-conjunctivitis occurred in October 1972 in a beef feedlot in Cyprus. Fifteen animals died and 10 that were severely ataxic were slaughtered; many animals became blind. There was no opportunity to isolate virus when the disease was active but in March and October 1973 infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) virus was isolated from cattle after they had been treated corticosteroids to stimulate virus excretion. It is probable that IBR virus caused the disease. This is the first report of the isolation of IBR virus from cattle in Cyprus.