title: Spontaneous fatal Human herpesvirus 1 encephalitis in two domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
abstract: Despite the particular susceptibility of the rabbit to experimental infection with Human herpesvirus 1 (HHV-1) and the high seroprevalence of HHV-1 in human beings, reports of natural infection in pet rabbits are rare. The current report describes 2 cases of HHV encephalitis in pet rabbits in North America. Antemortem clinical signs included seizures, ptyalism, and muscle tremors. Results of complete blood cell count and plasma biochemistry panel were unremarkable except for a mild leukocytosis in both cases. Both rabbits died after a short period of hospitalization. Rabbit 1 presented mild optic chiasm hemorrhage on gross examination, while rabbit 2 had no gross lesions. Histologic findings for both cases included lymphocytic and/or lymphoplasmacytic encephalitis with necrosis and the presence of intranuclear inclusion bodies in neurons and glial cells. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of affected brain tissue using primers specific for Human herpesvirus 1 and 2 confirmed diagnosis of HHV encephalitis for rabbit 1. Immunohistochemical staining (poly- and monoclonal) and PCR analysis using primers specific to HHV-1 confirmed the diagnosis of HHV-1 encephalitis for rabbit 2. The owner of rabbit 2 was suspected to be the source of infection due to close contact during an episode of herpes labialis. Given the high susceptibility of rabbits to experimental HHV-1, high seroprevalence of HHV-1 in human beings, and severity of clinical disease in this species, clinician awareness and client education is important for disease prevention. Human herpesvirus 1 encephalitis should be considered as a differential diagnosis for rabbits with neurologic disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Zoological Medicine (de Matos), College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NYDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Anatomic Pathology (Miller), College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NYDepartment of Comparative Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (Van Alstine)Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (Russell) rdematos@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Matos
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Zoological Medicine (de Matos), College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NYDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Anatomic Pathology (Miller), College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NYDepartment of Comparative Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (Van Alstine)Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (Russell).
authors.forename: Duncan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Zoological Medicine (de Matos), College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NYDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Anatomic Pathology (Miller), College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NYDepartment of Comparative Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (Van Alstine)Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (Russell).
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Van Alstine
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Zoological Medicine (de Matos), College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NYDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Anatomic Pathology (Miller), College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NYDepartment of Comparative Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (Van Alstine)Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (Russell).
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011817:Rabbits
keywords: Encephalitis; Human herpesvirus; rabbits