Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples Federico II, Via Federico Delpino n.1, Naples, 80137, Italy.
Department of Animal Health-Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Via Salute n. 2, Naples, 80055, Italy.
BMC Vet Res. 2024 Jul 18;20(1):323. doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-04189-3.
Pseudorabies is an infection of domestic and wild pigs that has occasionally been reported in dogs with fatal encephalitis. Hunting dogs are predisposed to pseudorabies exposure due to incorrect practices (administration of raw infected meat) or close contact with infected wild boars. This study described an outbreak of pseudorabies in two hunting dogs in the Campania region, southern Italy.
Two hunting dogs were hospitalized after a hunting trip, with fever, itching, and self-inflicted lesions. Laboratory tests showed mild anemia and marked leukocytosis. Despite conservative therapy, both animals died 48 h after the presentation of symptoms. One of the carcasses was sent to the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production in Naples to confirm the suspicion of pseudorabies. DNA was extracted from different matrices and used as a template for real-time PCR to detect PRV. Several samples (brain, cerebellum, brainstem, lung, and liver) tested positive. Subsequent sequence analyses of glycoprotein E from DNA extracted from the brain stem revealed a sequence similarity to those described in previous cases of pseudorabies in dogs in Italy, France and Belgium. One month after the outbreak, blood samples were collected from 42 dogs belonging to the same hunting team and from 245 dogs (cohort population) living in the Campania region. All samples were tested with two commercial ELISAs to detect seroconversion against glycoproteins B and E. A seroprevalence of 19% was observed in the hunting team affected by the outbreak, while only 0.8% was observed in the regional dog population.
The data reported in this study demonstrate potential exposure to PRV by dead-end hosts, particularly hunting dogs. The sequencing results indicated the homogeneity of PRV strains circulating in the different Italian regions.
伪狂犬病是一种感染家猪和野猪的疾病，偶尔也会在狗身上报告并发致命脑炎。猎犬由于不正确的做法（摄入生的受感染肉）或与受感染野猪的密切接触，容易接触伪狂犬病。本研究描述了意大利南部坎帕尼亚地区两只猎犬的伪狂犬病爆发。
两只猎犬在狩猎旅行后因发热、瘙痒和自残而住院。实验室检查显示轻度贫血和明显的白细胞增多。尽管进行了保守治疗，但两只动物在出现症状后 48 小时死亡。其中一具尸体被送往那不勒斯兽医和动物生产系以确认对伪狂犬病的怀疑。从不同基质中提取 DNA 并用作实时 PCR 的模板以检测 PRV。对来自脑干的 DNA 进行的糖蛋白 E 序列分析显示与意大利、法国和比利时以前报道的狗伪狂犬病病例的序列相似性。在爆发后一个月，从同一狩猎队的 42 只狗和居住在坎帕尼亚地区的 245 只狗（队列人群）采集了血液样本。所有样本均使用两种商业 ELISA 进行检测，以检测针对糖蛋白 B 和 E 的血清转化。在受爆发影响的狩猎队中观察到 19%的血清阳性率，而在地区犬群中仅观察到 0.8%。
本研究报告的数据表明，末端宿主，特别是猎犬，可能接触到 PRV。测序结果表明，意大利不同地区循环的 PRV 株具有同源性。
