Latent Herpes Virus Infections in Veterinary Medicine

Book excerpt: This seminar referred to latent herpes virus infections in veterinary medicine, with emphasis on the domestic animals. The phenomenon of latency is of particular importance in veterinary medicine because it can jeopardize the successful control and eradication of diseases such as Aujeszky's disease and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, diseases which are often the cause of great economic losses. For this reason, the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) realized the importance of summarizing the present state of knowledge on latent herpes virus infections in veterinary medicine. A seminar was therefore organized by the Federal Research Institute for Animal Virus Diseases in Ttibingen, Federal Republic of Germany, from September 21 to 23, 1982, as a part of the 'Animal Pathology Programme' of the CEC. The seminar was attended by 50 participants not only from the countries of the CEC, and 38 papers were selected for presentation. In veterinary medicine, more intensive investigations on the latency of animal herpes viruses have only relatively recently been initiated. In contrast, great efforts have been made for many years to elucidate latency in human and primate herpes viruses, and consequently the most considerable advances have been made in this field. Some of the most experienced scientists working on both systems were therefore invited. As a result, this seminar was the first occasion on which scientists from different countries and faculties investigating herpes virus latency had the opportunity to present and exchange their latest results. The.