T-lymphocyte populations in the blood of caprine arthritis encephalitis virus-infected goats

The effect of natural infection by Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus on the phenotypic pattern of T lymphocytes in peripheral blood was studied in a herd of 127 milking goats by flow cytometry. Total leukocyte and T-lymphocyte numbers tend to decrease with age, with only small changes in the CD4CD8 ratio. The lymphocyte phenotypes show no strong correlation with seropositivity to CAEV or the presence of clinical symptoms, suggesting that this macrophagetropic lentivirus does not greatly affect the lymphocyte population.