title: Canine distemper outbreak in raccoons suggests pathogen interspecies transmission amongst alien and native carnivores in urban areas from Germany.
abstract: From December 2012 to May 2013, an outbreak occurred among urban wild carnivores from Berlin. We collected 97 free-ranging raccoons from the city area. PCR assays, histopathology and immunohistochemistry confirmed canine distemper virus (CDV) infection in 74 raccoons. Phylogenetic analysis of haemagglutinin gene fragments (1767 nucleotides) of CDV isolated from four raccoons showed close relation to CDV isolates from foxes from Germany and a domestic dog from Hungary; all belonging to the "Europe" lineage of CDV. These study results suggest an inter-species transmission of CDV as the origin for the outbreak among the raccoon population. Implications for domestic pets and suggested interspecies transmission between urban wildlife and raccoons are discussed. This is the first major outbreak of CDV amongst free-ranging raccoons in Europe.
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: renteria@izw-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Zaida
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rentería-Solís
authors.affiliation: Institut für Virologie, Fachbereich Veterinärmedizin, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, BFS, Schubertstrasse 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Förster
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Diseases, Zoonoses and Infection Diagnostic, Berlin-Brandenburg State Laboratory, Invalidenstr. 60, 10557 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aue
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Diseases, Zoonoses and Infection Diagnostic, Berlin-Brandenburg State Laboratory, Invalidenstr. 60, 10557 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wittstatt
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wibbelt
authors.affiliation: Institut für Virologie, Fachbereich Veterinärmedizin, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, BFS, Schubertstrasse 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: König
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D004216:Distemper / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D004217:Distemper Virus, Canine / Q000235:genetics*; D004285:Dogs / Q000821:virology; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011821:Raccoons / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary
keywords: Canine distemper virus; Germany; Invasive species; Procyon lotor; Raccoon; Urban areas