Detection and characterisation of multiple herpesviruses in free-living Western European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)

Hydeskov, Helle B.; Dastjerdi, Akbar; Hopkins, Kevin P.; Ryser-Degiorgis, Marie-Pierre; Widén, Frederik; Cunningham, Andrew A.; Lawson, Becki (2018). Detection and characterisation of multiple herpesviruses in free-living Western European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus). Scientific Reports, 8(1), p. 13942. Nature Publishing Group 10.1038/s41598-018-31900-w

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Sporadic cases of herpesvirus-associated disease have been reported in the Western European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), but there has been little surveillance for, nor any sequence characterisation of, herpesviruses in this species to date. A nested pan-herpesvirus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting a region of the DNA polymerase gene was used to test 129 Western European hedgehogs from across Great Britain, 2011-2016; 59 (46%) of which were PCR-positive. In addition, samples from two previously published cases of fatal herpesvirus infection in E. europaeus, from Sweden and Switzerland, were positive using this PCR. No statistically significant relationship was detected between PCR result and sex, age class, year or season for the British hedgehogs tested. In most PCR-positive animals (19/22) from which liver and brain were tested separately, both were PCR-positive. Sanger sequencing of amplicons from 59 British hedgehogs revealed at least two novel viruses within the Gammaherpesvirinae. Thirteen of these hedgehogs had liver and brain tissues screened for microscopic abnormalities, of which one had non-suppurative meningoencephalitis, but neither intranuclear inclusion bodies nor herpesvirus virions (on electron microscopical examination) were identified. Sequencing of the whole DNA polymerase gene confirmed two genetically different Human alphaherpesvirus 1 viruses in the Swedish and Swiss hedgehogs.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Review Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Research Foci > Host-Pathogen Interaction
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute for Fish and Wildlife Health (FIWI)

UniBE Contributor:

Ryser, Marie Pierre

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology
500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)
600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

2045-2322

Publisher:

Nature Publishing Group

Language:

English

Submitter:

Pamela Schumacher

Date Deposited:

20 Sep 2019 14:23

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:28

Publisher DOI:

10.1038/s41598-018-31900-w

PubMed ID:

30224824

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.130203

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/130203

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