Arctic lineage-canine distemper virus as a cause of death in Apennine wolves (Canis lupus) in Italy.
Canine distemper virus (CDV) infection is a primary threat affecting a wide number of carnivore species, including wild animals. In January 2013, two carcasses of Apennine wolves (Canis lupus) were collected in Ortona dei Marsi (L'Aquila province, Italy) by the local Veterinary Services. CDV was immediately identified either by RT-PCR or immunohistochemistry in lung and central nervous tissue samples. At the same time, severe clinical signs consistent with CDV infection were identified and taped (Videos S1-S3) from three wolves rescued in the areas surrounding the National Parks of the Abruzzi region by the Veterinary Services. The samples collected from these symptomatic animals also turned out CDV positive by RT-PCR. So far, 30 carcasses of wolves were screened and CDV was detected in 20 of them. The sequencing of the haemagglutinin gene and subsequent phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the identified virus belonged to the CDV Arctic lineage. Strains belonging to this lineage are known to circulate in Italy and in Eastern Europe amongst domestic dogs. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of CDV Arctic lineage epidemics in the wild population in Europe.
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
Daria
D
Di Sabatino
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
Alessio
A
Lorusso
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Teramo, Teramo, Italy.
Cristina E
CE
Di Francesco
Veterinary Services, National Park of Abruzzi, Lazio and Molise, Pescasseroli (AQ), Italy.
Leonardo
L
Gentile
Veterinary Services, National Park of Abruzzi, Lazio and Molise, Pescasseroli (AQ), Italy.
Vincenza
V
Di Pirro
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
Anna Lucia
AL
Bellacicco
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
Armando
A
Giovannini
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
Gabriella
G
Di Francesco
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
Giuseppe
G
Marruchella
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Teramo, Teramo, Italy.
Fulvio
F
Marsilio
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
Giovanni
G
Savini
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000821:virology; D002423:Cause of Death; D004217:Distemper Virus, Canine / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005060:Europe; D007558:Italy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019596:Wolves / Q000821:virology*