Abstract
Aleutian mink disease (AMD) is a chronic viral disease in farmed mink and the virus (AMDV) has been found in many free-ranging mink (Neovison vison) populations in Europe and North America. In this study, AMDV DNA and AMDV antibodies were analysed in 144 free-ranging mink hunted in Sweden. Associations between being AMDV infected (defined as positive for both viral DNA and antibodies) and the weight of the spleen, liver, kidneys, adrenal glands and body condition were calculated and the sequences of ten AMDV isolates were analysed in order to characterize the genetic relationships. In total, 46.1% of the mink were positive for AMDV antibodies and 57.6% were positive for AMDV DNA. Twenty-two percent of the mink tested on both tests (n = 133) had dissimilar results. The risk of having AMDV antibodies or being positive for AMDV DNA clearly increased with age and the majority of the mink that were two years or older were infected. Few macroscopic changes were found upon necropsy. However, the relative weight of the spleen was sexually dimorphic and was found to be slightly, but significantly (p = 0.006), heavier in AMDV infected male mink than uninfected. No association between AMDV infection and body condition, weight of the kidneys, liver or adrenal glands were found. Several different strains of AMDV were found across the country. Two of the AMDV sequences from the very north of Sweden did not group with any of the previously described groups of strains. In summary, AMDV seems to be prevalent in wild mink in Sweden and may subtly influence the weight of the spleen.
Highlights
Aleutian mink disease (AMD) in the American mink (Neovison vison) is caused by an amdovirus with high genetic diversity [1]
The highest reported proportion of AMD virus (AMDV) positive mink is from Nova Scotia, Canada, where 56 of 60 (93.3%) of wild mink were PCR positive [22], which is much higher than the previously reported 25% in mink from different parts of Canada [14]
This study shows that AMDV seems to be endemic all over Sweden and that the percentage of free-ranging mink that are AMDV positive and/or have AMDV antibodies appears to be high, with several different strains circulating across the country
Summary
Aleutian mink disease (AMD) in the American mink (Neovison vison) is caused by an amdovirus with high genetic diversity [1]. The AMD virus (AMDV) genome codes for two structural proteins (VP1 and VP2) and three non-structural proteins (NS1, NS2 and NS3) [2, 3]. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials
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