Transmission of BoHV-1

During primary infection, cattle shed virus titers of up to 10⁸ TCID₅₀ in nasal and ocular fluids for approximately 14 days, which can infect in-contact animals.

After replication in nasal mucosae, BoHV-1 is transported along axons of nerves and becomes latent in peripheral sensory ganglia, where it remains during the lifetime of the animal.

Stress or corticosteroid treatment can lead to the reactivation of BoHV-1, which is then transported back along axons from peripheral sensory ganglia to the primary infection site. Shedding of reactivated BoHV-1 may or may not be accompanied by clinical signs of the disease.