First Report of Bovine Leukemia Virus Infection in Yaks (Bos mutus) in China

Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is a chronic lymphosarcoma disease of cattle caused by bovine leukemia virus (BLV). No information is available concerning the epidemiology of BLV infection in yaks (Bos mutus). One thousand five hundred and eighty-four serum samples from 610 black yaks and 974 white yaks from Gansu province, northwest China, were collected between April 2013 and March 2014 and tested for BLV antibodies using a commercially available ELISA kit. The overall BLV seroprevalence in yaks was 21.09% (334/1584), with 24.26% (148/610) black yaks and 19.10% (186/974) white yaks yielding positive results. Risk factor analysis indicated that with the exception of breed (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.06–1.73, P < 0.05), the age, region, gender, farm, and the numbers of pregnancies were not considered as risk factors for the presence of BLV in yaks included in this study. This is the first report of BLV infection in yaks in China, which provides information for controlling BLV infection in yaks.