The wood mouse is a natural host for Murid herpesvirus 4.
Infection of laboratory mice by the Murid herpesvirus 4 (MHV-4) is a much studied model system for gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis. Little, however, is known about its natural host range, epidemiology and pathogenesis outside the laboratory. We have studied MHV-4 infection in free-living murids in the UK. Using a combination of serology and PCR analysis, we found that MHV-4 was endemic in wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) but not in two species of voles (Clethrionomys glareolus, Microtus agrestis). The sites of detection of viral DNA were the lungs and, less commonly, the spleen, emphasizing the importance of the former in virus persistence during natural infection and confirming similar data in laboratory mice.
Blasdell
Kim
K
Centre for Comparative Infectious Diseases, The University of Liverpool, Dept of Medical Microbiology and Genitourinary Medicine, Duncan Building, Daulby Street, Liverpool L69 3GA, UK.
McCracken
Christina
C
Centre for Comparative Infectious Diseases, The University of Liverpool, Dept of Medical Microbiology and Genitourinary Medicine, Duncan Building, Daulby Street, Liverpool L69 3GA, UK.
Morris
Andy
A
Centre for Comparative Infectious Diseases, The University of Liverpool, Dept of Medical Microbiology and Genitourinary Medicine, Duncan Building, Daulby Street, Liverpool L69 3GA, UK.
Nash
Anthony A
AA
Laboratory for Clinical and Molecular Virology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Begon
Mike
M
Centre for Comparative Infectious Diseases, The University of Liverpool, Dept of Medical Microbiology and Genitourinary Medicine, Duncan Building, Daulby Street, Liverpool L69 3GA, UK.
Bennett
Malcolm
M
Centre for Comparative Infectious Diseases, The University of Liverpool, Dept of Medical Microbiology and Genitourinary Medicine, Duncan Building, Daulby Street, Liverpool L69 3GA, UK.
Stewart
James P
JP
Laboratory for Clinical and Molecular Virology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.|Centre for Comparative Infectious Diseases, The University of Liverpool, Dept of Medical Microbiology and Genitourinary Medicine, Duncan Building, Daulby Street, Liverpool L69 3GA, UK.
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003411:Arvicolinae; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D008168:Lung / Q000821:virology; D009115:Muridae / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018144:Rhadinovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000821:virology; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral