Distribution of bovine immunodeficiency virus in the organs of experimentally infected cows.

The distribution of bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) in the organs of experimentally infected cows was investigated by use of nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Two cows (Nos. 1 and 2) experimentally infected with BIV were alive without any clinical symptoms of BIV infection for 28 months. Viral and proviral genomes of BIV were continuously detected from peripheral blood leukocytes in those cows by nested PCR. Proviral genomes of BIV were also detected in liver, lung, and spleen cells in the two cows, and in the brain in cow No. 1. Viral genomes were detected in liver, lung and spleen cells in cow No. 1, and detected only in spleen cells in cow No. 2. These results suggest that BIV tended to be persistent in some organs, especially in the spleen.