Papageorgiou Konstantinos, Bouzalas Ilias, Giamoustari Kiriaki, Wróbel Małgorzata, Doukas Dimitrios, Stoikou Aikaterini, Athanasakopoulou Zoi, Chatzopoulos Dimitrios, Papadopoulos Dimitrios, Pakos Spyridon, Karapetsiou Chrysanthi, Billinis Charalambos, Petridou Evanthia, Kritas Spyridon K
Laboratory of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Veterinary Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization DIMITRA (ELGO-DIMITRA), Campus Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Pathogens. 2025 Sep 9;14(9):905. doi: 10.3390/pathogens14090905.
Aujeszky's disease, or pseudorabies, is a viral infection caused by (pseudorabies virus), with swine as its natural host. Although eradicated in domestic pigs in many European countries, PRV remains endemic in wild boar populations, posing a risk to other species, including carnivores. In this study, we report eight fatal cases of PRV infection in hunting dogs from Epirus and Thessaly, Greece, all of which followed direct contact with hunted wild boars. Postmortem brain samples tested positive for PRV via PCR targeting the . Partial sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the amplified gC fragments revealed genetic divergence among the examined isolates. The Epirus-derived strains formed a distinct cluster, closely related to previously reported Greek strains from the region of Central Macedonia as well as to the French strain FRA 527 and the German isolate GER614BW. In contrast, the two Thessaly sequenced isolates were phylogenetically distant from all other Greek strains, potentially representing an independently evolving lineage, and clustered more closely with the Kaplan strain. These findings underscore the persistent threat of PRV transmission from wild to domestic species and highlight the genetic heterogeneity of PRV strains circulating in Greece. Veterinary practitioners should consider PRV in the differential diagnosis of encephalitic symptoms in hunting dogs. Enhanced molecular surveillance and public awareness are critical to mitigating the risks posed by this emerging threat.
奥耶斯基氏病，即伪狂犬病，是由伪狂犬病病毒引起的一种病毒感染，猪是其天然宿主。尽管在许多欧洲国家家猪中已被根除，但伪狂犬病病毒在野猪种群中仍然流行，对包括食肉动物在内的其他物种构成风险。在本研究中，我们报告了希腊伊庇鲁斯和色萨利地区8例狩猎犬感染伪狂犬病病毒的死亡病例，所有病例均与被猎杀的野猪有直接接触。通过针对[具体基因片段]的聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测，死后脑部样本伪狂犬病病毒呈阳性。对扩增的gC片段进行部分测序和系统发育分析，揭示了所检测分离株之间的基因差异。来自伊庇鲁斯的菌株形成了一个独特的簇，与先前报道的中马其顿地区希腊菌株以及法国菌株FRA 527和德国分离株GER614BW密切相关。相比之下，色萨利地区测序的两个分离株在系统发育上与所有其他希腊菌株距离较远，可能代表一个独立进化的谱系，并且与卡普兰菌株聚类更紧密。这些发现强调了伪狂犬病病毒从野生动物传播到家养动物的持续威胁，并突出了希腊流行的伪狂犬病病毒株的基因异质性。兽医从业者在对狩猎犬脑炎症状进行鉴别诊断时应考虑伪狂犬病病毒。加强分子监测和公众意识对于减轻这一新兴威胁带来的风险至关重要。
