BCSE (Basic & Clinical Sciences Examination) · USA / Canada · ICVA; administered through CVMA-NEB and AVMA-ECFVG
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersVirus structure and replication, the virus families behind the major animal plagues and pet diseases, and how viral infections are diagnosed and vaccinated against.
In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF core group 06; ICAR AIEEA-PG 13 (Microbiology); China infectious diseases 30
NAVLE, BCSE, RCVS SME, AVE, SAVC
Clinical vignettes: parvoviral enteritis in a pup, distemper with neurological signs, FeLV/FIV testing in a new cat, rabies exposure and ten-day observation, equine influenza outbreak, a Coggins-positive horse, recognising and reporting a suspected foreign animal disease such as FMD, ASF or HPAI.
How our questions for BCSE spread across the units of Systematic Veterinary Virology. Difficulty: 7 easy, 30 medium, 3 hard.
| Canine parvovirus and canine distemper virus | 8 | |
| Equine influenza and equine infectious anaemia viruses | 7 | |
| Rabies virus | 4 | |
| Foot-and-mouth disease virus | 3 | |
| Viral vaccine technology | 3 | |
| Virus replication | 2 | |
| Capripoxviruses and lumpy skin disease virus | 2 | |
| Avian influenza virus | 2 | |
| Marek's disease virus | 2 | |
| Virus structure | 1 | |
| PPR virus and rinderpest (history of eradication) | 1 | |
| Bluetongue virus | 1 | |
| Newcastle disease virus | 1 | |
| Infectious bursal disease virus | 1 | |
| African and classical swine fever viruses | 1 | |
| Viral diagnostics | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Sudden death in unweaned calves during a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, with grey-white streaks in the myocardium at post-mortem, is called:
A. Tiger heart
Myocarditis in young animals is the main cause of death in foot-and-mouth disease and the streaked myocardium is described as tiger heart. Turkey-egg kidney belongs to classical swine fever, zebra striping to rinderpest and PPR in the large intestine, and sit-fasts to sloughed lumpy skin disease nodules.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
Which sample is the first choice for confirming a suspected acute case of foot-and-mouth disease?
A. Fresh vesicular epithelium in buffered transport medium
Vesicular epithelium carries the most virus and supports antigen ELISA, genome detection and typing. A single serum sample cannot distinguish infection from vaccination or tell you the serotype quickly, faeces are a poor sample for this virus, and formalin fixation destroys the material needed for virus detection.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
Serological testing before international pet travel commonly requires a rabies neutralising antibody titre of at least:
C. 0.5 IU per mL
Many importing countries set 0.5 IU per mL, measured by a fluorescent antibody virus neutralisation or rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test, as evidence of an adequate response to vaccination; the exact requirement and the waiting period vary by country. The other figures are order-of-magnitude slips.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
Which samples are standard for investigating suspected avian influenza in a live flock?
C. Oropharyngeal (tracheal) and cloacal swabs
Respiratory and cloacal swabs capture the sites of replication and shedding and suit genome detection. A single serum sample shows exposure but not current infection, feather pulp is the sample for Marek's disease virus, and formalin destroys material needed for genome detection.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
Cell-associated Marek's disease vaccine must be:
A. Stored in liquid nitrogen and used promptly once thawed and diluted
Live vaccine held inside cells survives only in liquid nitrogen, and once thawed and diluted it must be used quickly, with attention to dilution and needle handling. Ordinary freezer storage destroys the cells, and holding diluted vaccine overnight loses potency.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
Which viruses are regarded as core canine vaccines under the widely used international guidelines, in addition to rabies where it is endemic?
A. Canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus and canine parvovirus type 2
Distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus are core for every dog, with rabies core where the disease is endemic or required by law; the others are non-core and are chosen on risk. Kennel cough components are important but are not core.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
Equine infectious anaemia virus is transmitted mainly by:
D. Mechanical transfer of blood by large biting flies and by contaminated needles
Tabanid and stomoxys-type flies carry infected blood on their mouthparts, and shared needles, dental instruments or blood products do the same; the virus does not replicate in the insect. Aerosol and feed-borne spread are not routes for this lentivirus.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
A horse tests positive for equine infectious anaemia on a confirmed test. The correct management, subject to national law, is:
D. Permanent isolation or euthanasia, since infection is lifelong with no vaccine or treatment
Infection is lifelong, inapparent carriers still transmit, and there is no internationally used vaccine or treatment, so positive horses are destroyed or kept permanently isolated according to national rules. Expecting treatment or vaccination to resolve the situation is the common error.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
The most common serious complication of equine influenza is:
A. Secondary bacterial pneumonia
Damage to the respiratory epithelium opens the way to bacterial infection, which is why rest and careful management after the fever resolves matter as much as anything. Laminitis, haemolysis and renal failure are not typical direct consequences of equine influenza.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
In an outbreak, 480 of 1,200 birds in a shed became sick and 300 of the sick birds died. The attack rate and case fatality rate are:
B. 40% and 62.5%
Attack rate = 480/1,200 = 40%. Case fatality rate = deaths among cases = 300/480 = 62.5%. The option '40% and 25%' uses 300/1,200, which is the mortality rate in the whole shed, not the case fatality rate, and swapping the two figures is the other common error.
Further reading: Standard veterinary virology texts and WOAH Terrestrial Manual disease chapters
Ten here, 40 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to BCSE in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
Free for ten days, then one subscription of US$10 a month. We would rather say so here than have you find it later.
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