Church Chloe, Casteriano Andrea, Muir Yasmine Ss, Krockenberger Mark, Vaz Paola K, Higgins Damien P, Wright Belinda R
Koala Health Hub, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Asia Pacific Centre for Animal Health, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 20;15(1):6136. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-90626-8.
The recent classification of the koala to endangered across most of its range has emphasised the urgent need for enhanced disease surveillance. Little is known about the distribution and clinical significance of phascolarctid gammaherpesvirus 2 (PhaHV-2) outside the Australian states of Victoria and South Australia. PhaHV-2 may have significant impacts on koala wellbeing, justifying investigation into its distribution and impact. To better characterise virus distribution and factors associated with infection, we developed a novel quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay with a high sensitivity, specificity and throughput capacity, to facilitate rapid detection and quantification of PhaHV-2. We applied this assay to 157 predominantly clinically-derived, urogenital swab samples. Results indicated that the distribution of PhaHV-2 extends throughout the endangered New South Wales koala populations. Frequency of detection of PhaHV-2 was highest in South Australia (25%) and lowest in northern Qld (0%) and was more likely in older koalas than younger koalas. We corroborate previous findings of an association with presence of PhaHV-1 and find no evidence to support sex as a predictor for viral presence in clinically-derived samples. The capacity to rapidly detect mucosal shedding of PhaHV-2 will enable rapid isolation of affected individuals and aid further research into the pathophysiological impacts of this virus in koalas and the influence of co-infections.
考拉在其大部分分布区域最近被列为濒危物种，这凸显了加强疾病监测的迫切需求。在澳大利亚维多利亚州和南澳大利亚州之外，关于袋熊γ疱疹病毒2（PhaHV - 2）的分布和临床意义知之甚少。PhaHV - 2可能对考拉的健康有重大影响，因此有必要对其分布和影响进行调查。为了更好地描述病毒分布以及与感染相关的因素，我们开发了一种新型定量聚合酶链反应检测方法，该方法具有高灵敏度、特异性和高通量能力，以促进PhaHV - 2的快速检测和定量。我们将此检测方法应用于157份主要来自临床的泌尿生殖系统拭子样本。结果表明，PhaHV - 2的分布范围延伸至濒危的新南威尔士州考拉种群。PhaHV - 2的检测频率在南澳大利亚最高（25%），在昆士兰州北部最低（0%），并且在老年考拉中比在年轻考拉中更常见。我们证实了之前关于PhaHV - 1存在与之相关的研究结果，并且没有证据支持性别可作为临床样本中病毒存在的预测指标。快速检测PhaHV - 2黏膜脱落的能力将有助于迅速隔离受影响的个体，并有助于进一步研究该病毒对考拉的病理生理影响以及合并感染的影响。
