1. Transmission patterns of malignant catarrhal fever in sheep and cattle in Karnataka, India.
- Author
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Shyamsundar KA, Rathnamma D, Gulati BR, Isloor S, Chandranaik BM, Sharada R, Shivashankar BP, Suresh KP, Ranganatha S, and Patil SS
- Subjects
- Animals, India epidemiology, Sheep, Cattle, Sheep Diseases virology, Sheep Diseases transmission, Sheep Diseases epidemiology, Sheep Diseases pathology, Female, Prevalence, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay veterinary, Cattle Diseases virology, Cattle Diseases epidemiology, Cattle Diseases transmission, Cattle Diseases pathology, Polymerase Chain Reaction veterinary, Malignant Catarrh virology, Malignant Catarrh transmission, Malignant Catarrh epidemiology, Malignant Catarrh pathology, Gammaherpesvirinae genetics, Gammaherpesvirinae isolation & purification, Gammaherpesvirinae classification, Phylogeny, Buffaloes virology
- Abstract
Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) presents a sporadic yet significant threat to livestock and wildlife. A comprehensive investigation in Karnataka, India into the prevalence and transmission patterns of sheep-associated MCF (SA-MCF) was conducted. A total of 507 sheep peripheral blood leukocyte samples from 13 districts along with 27 cows and 10 buffalo samples from various regions in Karnataka were tested for SA-MCF infection i.e. Ovine gammaherpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) using heminested PCR. Furthermore, serum samples collected from 73 cows and 15 buffalo suspected of MCF were tested using a commercially available ELISA kit. Additionally, histopathological examinations of affected tissues and phylogenetic analysis of viral tegument protein sequences were conducted. Our findings indicated a 20.11%, 33.33% and 20% positivity for OvHV-2 in sheep, cows and buffalo respectively by PCR. Statistical analysis revealed a significant association between the age of sheep and the detection of OvHV-2. Seven cows and one buffalo serum samples tested positive for ELISA. Clinical findings in bovids were consistent with typical MCF signs, and histopathological results revealed multi-organ involvement characterised by necrotising vasculitis and lymphoid hyperplasia. The nucleotide pairwise identity matrix revealed 99.5% identity between the sequences obtained in the study with sequences from other states. The phylogenetic analysis of partial tegument protein sequences from bovid and sheep samples suggested a close genetic relationship between the local OvHV-2 strains and those from various global regions. Crucially, this study underscores the widespread presence of SA-MCF in Karnataka, with significant implications for both livestock management and wildlife conservation., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)
- Published
- 2024
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