title: Distribution of eastern equine encephalomyelitis viral protein and nucleic acid within central nervous tissue lesions in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
abstract: An outbreak of eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) occurred in Michigan free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during late summer and fall of 2005. Brain tissue from 7 deer with EEE, as confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, was studied. Detailed microscopic examination, indirect immunohistochemistry (IHC), and in situ hybridization (ISH) were used to characterize the lesions and distribution of the EEE virus within the brain. The main lesion in all 7 deer was a polioencephalomyelitis with leptomeningitis, which was more prominent within the cerebral cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus, and brainstem. In 3 deer, multifocal microhemorrhages surrounded smaller vessels with or without perivascular cuffing, although vasculitis was not observed. Neuronal necrosis, associated with perineuronal satellitosis and neutrophilic neuronophagia, was most prominent in the thalamus and the brainstem. Positive IHC labeling was mainly observed in the perikaryon, axons, and dendrites of necrotic and intact neurons and, to a much lesser degree, in glial cells, a few neutrophils in the thalamus and the brainstem, and occasionally the cerebral cortex of the 7 deer. There was minimal IHC-based labeling in the cerebellum and hippocampus. ISH labeling was exclusively observed in the cytoplasm of neurons, with a distribution similar to IHC-positive neurons. Neurons positive by IHC and ISH were most prominent in the thalamus and brainstem. The neuropathology of EEE in deer is compared with other species. Based on our findings, EEE has to be considered a differential diagnosis for neurologic disease and meningoencephalitis in white-tailed deer.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health, 4125 Beaumont Rd 152A, Lansing, MI 48910-8104, USA. Email: Kiupel@dcpah.msu.edu.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiupel
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Pennick
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Cooley
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Bolin
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Del Piero
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D003670:Deer / Q000821:virology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D004663:Encephalitis Virus, Eastern Equine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D020242:Encephalomyelitis, Eastern Equine / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000662:veterinary; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins
keywords: IHC; ISH; alphavirus; deer; eastern equine encephalomyelitis; histopathology; neurologic disease