Short communication: Pasteurization of Milk Abolisches Bovine Herpesvirus 4 infectivity

Bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) is a gammaherpesvirus
highly prevalent in the cattle population that has
been isolated from the milk and the serum of healthy
infected cows. Several studies reported the sensitivity
and the permissiveness of some human cells to BoHV-4
infection. Moreover, our recent study demonstrated
that some human cells sensitive but not permissive to
BoHV-4 support a persistent infection protecting them
from tumor necrosis factor-α–induced apoptosis. Together,
these observations suggested that BoHV-4
could represent a danger for public health. To evaluate
the risk of human infection by BoHV-4 through milk
or serum derivatives, we investigated the resistance
of BoHV-4 to the mildest thermal treatments usually
applied to these products. The results demonstrated
that milk pasteurization and thermal decomplementation
of serum abolish BoHV-4 infectivity by inactivation
of its property to enter permissive cells. Consequently,
our results demonstrate that these treatments
drastically reduce the risk of human infection
by BoHV-4 through treated milk or serum derivatives.
(Key words: bovine herpesvirus 4, milk, serum, pasteurization)