Porcine Circoviruses and Herpesviruses Are Prevalent in an Austrian Game Population.

Angelika Auer,Till Rümenapf,Annika Posautz,Christiane Riedel,Anna Kübber-Heiss,Katharina Dimmel,Kerstin Seitz,Christoph Beiglböck,Lea Schweitzer

doi:10.3390/pathogens11030305

Angelika Auer, Till Rümenapf + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11030305

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Abstract

During the annual hunt in a privately owned Austrian game population in fall 2019 and 2020, 64 red deer (Cervus elaphus), 5 fallow deer (Dama dama), 6 mouflon (Ovis gmelini musimon), and 95 wild boars (Sus scrofa) were shot and sampled for PCR testing. Pools of spleen, lung, and tonsillar swabs were screened for specific nucleic acids of porcine circoviruses. Wild ruminants were additionally tested for herpesviruses and pestiviruses, and wild boars were screened for pseudorabies virus (PrV) and porcine lymphotropic herpesviruses (PLHV-1-3). PCV2 was detectable in 5% (3 of 64) of red deer and 75% (71 of 95) of wild boar samples. In addition, 24 wild boar samples (25%) but none of the ruminants tested positive for PCV3 specific nucleic acids. Herpesviruses were detected in 15 (20%) ruminant samples. Sequence analyses showed the closest relationships to fallow deer herpesvirus and elk gammaherpesvirus. In wild boars, PLHV-1 was detectable in 10 (11%), PLHV-2 in 44 (46%), and PLHV-3 in 66 (69%) of animals, including 36 double and 3 triple infections. No pestiviruses were detectable in any ruminant samples, and all wild boar samples were negative in PrV-PCR. Our data demonstrate a high prevalence of PCV2 and PLHVs in an Austrian game population, confirm the presence of PCV3 in Austrian wild boars, and indicate a low risk of spillover of notifiable animal diseases into the domestic animal population.

Highlights

Wild animal populations can be affected by diseases introduced by domestic animals, but can be conceived as a threat to domestic animal populations as potential vectors or reservoirs of disease
Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is a small, circular, single-stranded DNA virus of the family Circoviridae. It plays an important role in pig production worldwide and is known to cause postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS); porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS); and other diseases such as respiratory problems, enteritis, and reproductive failure [1–5]
PCV2 is highly prevalent in European wild boar populations, but associated clinical disease is rarely observed [6–15]

Summary

Introduction

Wild animal populations can be affected by diseases introduced by domestic animals, but can be conceived as a threat to domestic animal populations as potential vectors or reservoirs of disease. Monitoring wildlife health is an important tool to analyze disease dynamics in wild populations and the effect and likelihoods of spill-over to domestic animals and vice versa. Important pathogens of domestic animals that are present in wild ruminants and wild boar are, for example circoviruses, herpesviruses, and pestiviruses. Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is a small, circular, single-stranded DNA virus of the family Circoviridae. It plays an important role in pig production worldwide and is known to cause postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS); porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS); and other diseases such as respiratory problems, enteritis, and reproductive failure [1–5]. PCV2 is highly prevalent in European wild boar populations, but associated clinical disease is rarely observed [6–15]

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