title: Australian bat lyssavirus infection in two horses.
abstract: In May 2013, the first cases of Australian bat lyssavirus infections in domestic animals were identified in Australia. Two horses (filly-H1 and gelding-H2) were infected with the Yellow-bellied sheathtail bat (YBST) variant of Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV). The horses presented with neurological signs, pyrexia and progressing ataxia. Intra-cytoplasmic inclusion bodies (Negri bodies) were detected in some Purkinje neurons in haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained sections from the brain of one of the two infected horses (H2) by histological examination. A morphological diagnosis of sub-acute moderate non-suppurative, predominantly angiocentric, meningo-encephalomyelitis of viral aetiology was made. The presumptive diagnosis of ABLV infection was confirmed by the positive testing of the affected brain tissue from (H2) in a range of laboratory tests including fluorescent antibody test (FAT) and real-time PCR targeting the nucleocapsid (N) gene. Retrospective testing of the oral swab from (H1) in the real-time PCR also returned a positive result. The FAT and immunohistochemistry (IHC) revealed an abundance of ABLV antigen throughout the examined brain sections. ABLV was isolated from the brain (H2) and oral swab/saliva (H1) in the neuroblastoma cell line (MNA). Alignment of the genome sequence revealed a 97.7% identity with the YBST ABLV strain.
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Mustaghfira Wafa
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Shinwari
authors.affiliation: Randwick Equine Centre, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.
authors.forename: Edward J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Annand
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Driver
authors.affiliation: Public Health Virology Laboratory, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, P.O. Box 594, Archerfield, QLD 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Warrilow
authors.affiliation: Public Health Virology Laboratory, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, P.O. Box 594, Archerfield, QLD 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Harrower
authors.affiliation: LotteryWest State Biomedical Facility - Genomics, School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Department of Diagnostic Genomics, Pathwest Laboratory Medicine WA, PP Block, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard J N
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Allcock
authors.affiliation: Public Health Virology Laboratory, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, P.O. Box 594, Archerfield, QLD 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pukallus
authors.affiliation: CSIRO, Australian Animal Health Laboratory, 5 Portarlington Road, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.affiliation: CSIRO, Australian Animal Health Laboratory, 5 Portarlington Road, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bingham
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Ann Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kung
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia. Electronic address: ibrahim.diallo@daff.qld.gov.au.
authors.forename: Ibrahim S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Diallo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D001483:Base Sequence; D004683:Encephalomyelitis, Equine / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique / Q000662:veterinary; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D006736:Horses; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D018114:Lyssavirus / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008587:Meningitis, Viral / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D018353:Rhabdoviridae Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000662:veterinary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D017385:Sequence Homology
chemical_list: D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins
keywords: Australian bat lyssavirus; Equine non-suppurative meningoencephalomyelitis; Negri bodies; Yellow-bellied sheathtail bat