Potential role of wolf (Canis lupus) as passive carrier of European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV)

Publication date: April 2018 Source:Research in Veterinary Science, Volume 117 Author(s): Federica Di Profio, Irene Melegari, Vittorio Sarchese, Serena Robetto, Sandra Bermudez Sanchez, Emanuele Carella, Riccardo Orusa, Patrizia Cavadini, Antonio Lavazza, Fulvio Marsilio, Vito Martella, Barbara Di Martino European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV) was detected in a faecal swab collected from a wolf carcass in Northern Italy. The full-length genome of the EBHSV WOLF/17/2016/ITA strain was determined. In the VP60 capsid gene, the wolf strain displayed the highest genetic identity (99.2–99.1% nucleotide and 99.6–99.7% amino acid) with two EBHSV strains recently found in the intestinal content of a red fox and in the spleen and liver of a hare in Northern Italy. This finding poses interrogatives on the potential role of carnivores as EBHSV passive carriers, favoring the introduction and spread of the virus among different hare populations.
Source: Research in Veterinary Science - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research