Genetic Diversity among Pseudorabies Viruses Isolated from Dogs in France from 2006 to 2018.

Céline Deblanc,Gaëlle Simon,Marie-Frédérique Le Potier,Aurélie Oger

doi:10.3390/pathogens8040266

Céline Deblanc, Gaëlle Simon + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens8040266

Copy DOI

Abstract

Pseudorabies (PR), also known as Aujeszky’s disease, is an economically important disease for the pig industry. It has been eradicated in domestic pigs in many European countries, including France, but its causative agent—Suid Herpesvirus 1—is still circulating in wild boars. The risk of endemic PR in wild fauna lies in reintroducing the virus among domestic pigs and transmitting it to other mammals, especially hunting dogs for which the disease is rapidly fatal. As such infections are regularly reported in France, this study genetically characterized canine PR virus strains in the country to obtain information on their diversity and evolution. Partial sequencing of the glycoprotein C-encoding gene from 55 virus strains isolated from dogs between 2006 and 2018 showed that 14 strains belonged to genotype I-clade A and another 38 to genotype I-clade B, two clades usually reported in Western Europe. More surprisingly, three strains were found to belong to genotype II, suggesting an Asian origin. Genotype I-clade A strains exhibited the highest diversity as five geographically segregated genogroups were identified.

Highlights

Pseudorabies (PR), known as Aujeszky’s disease, is a highly contagious viral disease affecting multiple animal species
Of these 55 strains, 32 were obtained from hunting dogs having been in contact with a wild boar, and two were from dogs that died after contact with a wild carnivore
This study aimed to provide more comprehensive knowledge of PR virus (PRV) strains circulating in France and their distribution

Summary

Introduction

Pseudorabies (PR), known as Aujeszky’s disease, is a highly contagious viral disease affecting multiple animal species. Swine—including domestic pigs and wild boars—are the only natural hosts of the virus The disease it causes is characterized by central nervous system disorders that lead to death in younger pigs, and by respiratory signs and reproductive disorders in adults, which can remain latently infected following clinical recovery [1]. Within genotype I, PRV strains can be divided into two clades: clade A, which contains PRV strains from Europe and America, and clade B with strains only originating from Western Europe [9,10,11] Besides this variability dependent on geographical location, it appears that strains may evolve differently according to their host (i.e., domestic swine or wild boars) [12]. Italian strains of clade A could be classified into three groups, for example: “Italian

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion