WILDEBEEST-ASSOCIATED MALIGNANT CATARRHAL FEVER IN AFRICA - A NEOPLASTIC DISEASE OF CATTLE CAUSED BY AN ONCOGENIC HERPESVIRUS

Analysis of the literature and pathological features suggests that African malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a lymphoproliferative disease with features of malignant lymphoma or infectious mononucleosis of man caused by a lymphotropic herpesvirus. The key points which lead to this conclusion are: (1) MCF is caused by a herpesvirus. (2) No free infectious virus is present in affected tissues of cattle but presumably is present in the cellular genome and can be recovered with appropriate techniques. (3) The virus is associated with lymphocytes. (4) The virus induces classical herpetic CPE in vitro but in affected cattle there is no herpetic necrosis, no inclusion body or syncitial giant cell formation. (5) The disease is not contagious between cattle. (6) The incubation period is highly variable. (7) The principal pathological feature of the infection is lymphocytic proliferation and infiltration. © 1979.