Abstract :
The objective of present study was to evaluate the transmissibility of the caprine
arthritis–encephalitis virus (CAEV) through artificial insemination (AI), and to assess the
influence of viral load on this probable transmission. It also aims to verify whether the
inflammatory process caused by the use of intravaginal sponges would facilitate virus entry
in the female reproductive tract. For this purpose, 30 undefined breed goats were used, all
serologically negative for CAEV. One Anglo-Nubian buck, also seronegative, was used to artificially
inseminate females in this study. His semen was contaminated with the standard
CAEV-Cork virus strain, with two distinct infective titres, one 106 TCID50/mL, for high viral
load (HVL), and another of 102 TCID50/mL, for low viral load (LVL). Females had estrus synchronised
by using two protocols, intravaginal sponges in Group 1 (G1, N = 15) and auricular
subcutaneous implants in Group 2 (G2, N = 15). For inseminations, the goats were divided
into three groups of 10 animals each. One group was inseminated with HVL, another with
LVL and the third with semen from the same virus-free buck, as a negative control. The
experiment was conducted in accordance to the ethical principles for animal experimentation.
Statistical analyses were performed by the chi-square test (P < 0.05). Thirty days
after insemination, the experimental infection was confirmed, when 12 out of the 20 (60%)
inseminated goats had seroconverted. Sixty days after insemination, all females from the
HVL and LVL groups presented anti-CAEV antibodies. There was no statistical difference
(P > 0.05) among groups regarding viral loads nor between the two estrus synchronisation
protocols. Goats from the control group remained seronegative throughout the experiment
(12 months). Concerning reproductive parameters, no difference was found between the
control group and the infected groups. Based on these results, it is possible to conclude that
the virus can be transmitted through artificial insemination with infected semen. Therefore,
the venereal route is a potential route of infection
