title: Advances in canine distemper virus pathogenesis research: a wildlife perspective.
abstract: Canine distemper virus (CDV) has emerged as a significant disease of wildlife, which is highly contagious and readily transmitted between susceptible hosts. Initially described as an infectious disease of domestic dogs, it is now recognized as a global multi-host pathogen, infecting and causing mass mortalities in a wide range of carnivore species. The last decade has seen the effect of numerous CDV outbreaks in various wildlife populations. Prevention of CDV requires a clear understanding of the potential hosts in danger of infection as well as the dynamic pathways CDV uses to gain entry to its host cells and its ability to initiate viral shedding and disease transmission. We review recent research conducted on CDV infections in wildlife, including the latest findings on the causes of host specificity and cellular receptors involved in distemper pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.|National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: Angelika K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Loots
authors.affiliation: National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.|Genetics Department, University of the Free State, &nbsp;P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.
authors.forename: Desiré L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.affiliation: National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.|Genetics Department, University of the Free State, &nbsp;P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kotzé
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
authors.forename: Estelle H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Venter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000821:virology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D004216:Distemper / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D004217:Distemper Virus, Canine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004285:Dogs / Q000821:virology*; D058507:Host Specificity / Q000276:immunology*