Effect of a single therapeutic dose of levamisole on bovine viral diarrhea virus infection in calves.

The effect of a single therapeutic dose of levamisole in calves experimentally infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) was evaluated in 2 separate double-blind experiments. The infection was mild and there was no difference in severity of infection or speed of recovery between levamisole-treated and 0.9% Nacl solution-treated (control) calves. There were no significant differences between drug-treated and control calves in respect to total white blood cell, lymphocyte, and neutrophil counts, and the viral recovery data from these calves were comparable. The differences in blastogenic response of lymphocytes to the mitogen phytohemagglutinin and serum antibody titers of the 2 groups of calves were also insignificant. An increased lymphocytic hyperplasia was observed in a larger number of lymphoid tissues of drug-treated calves than in those of control calves. It appeared that a single therapeutic dose of levamisole was ineffective in altering the response of calves infected with BVDV.