title: High prevalence of Aleutian mink disease virus in free-ranging mink on a remote Danish island.
abstract: Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) causes severe disease in farmed mink (Neovison vison) worldwide. In Denmark, AMDV in farmed mink has been confined to the northern part of the mainland since 2002. From 1998 to 2009, samples from 396 free-ranging mink were collected from mainland Denmark, and a low AMDV antibody prevalence (3% of 296) was found using countercurrent immune electrophoresis. However, on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, a high prevalence (45% of 142 mink) was detected in the free-ranging mink. Aleutian mink disease virus was detected by polymerase chain reaction in 32 of 49 antibody-positive free-ranging mink on Bornholm, but not in mink collected from other parts of Denmark. Sequence analysis of 370 base pairs of the nonstructural gene of the AMDV of 17 samples revealed two clusters with closest similarity to Swedish AMDV strains.
authors.affiliation: Division of Poultry, Fish, and Fur Animals, National Veterinary Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Hangøvej 2, DK-8200 Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Trine H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Laurids S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: Mariann
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chriél
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harslund
authors.forename: Charlotte M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Salomonsen
authors.forename: Anne Sofie
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hammer
mesh_terms: D000453:Aleutian Mink Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000454:Aleutian Mink Disease Virus / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000821:virology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008907:Mink; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral