1. A distinct CDV genotype causing a major epidemic in Alpine wildlife
- Author
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C. Citterio, Marco Bregoli, Giovanni Cattoli, Federica Obber, Ilaria Capua, Paola De Benedictis, Viviana Valastro, Mariapia Cova, Isabella Monne, K. Trevisiol, Manuela Dalla Pozza, Alice Fusaro, Viale dell'Università, and Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna 'Bruno Ubertini' (IZSLER)
- Subjects
Canine distemper virus ,Genotype ,040301 veterinary sciences ,wildlife ,animal diseases ,viruses ,Carnivora ,Population ,Endangered species ,Wildlife ,Foxes ,Zoology ,Biology ,Haemagglutinin gene (H) ,Microbiology ,Evolution, Molecular ,0403 veterinary science ,03 medical and health sciences ,wild carnivores ,Mustelidae ,medicine ,Animals ,Distemper ,Carnivore ,Epidemics ,education ,Distemper Virus, Canine ,Phylogeny ,030304 developmental biology ,0303 health sciences ,education.field_of_study ,[SDV.BA.MVSA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Veterinary medicine and animal Health ,General Veterinary ,Phylogenetic tree ,Canine distemper ,Outbreak ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,General Medicine ,15. Life on land ,medicine.disease ,Virology ,Population decline ,Italy ,evolutionary dynamics ,RNA, Viral - Abstract
International audience; Canine distemper virus (CDV) infection represents an important conservation threat to many carnivore species and has contributed to the population decline of several wild terrestrial and aquatic mammalian species. Since 2006, the Alpine region of North-Eastern (NE) Italy has been experiencing a severe and widespread outbreak of CDV affecting the wild carnivore population. In this study we performed an extensive phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analysis of CDV identified during the recent wildlife epidemic in the Alpine region. Our analysis yielded data on the evolutionary dynamics of the Alpine wildlife CDV epidemic and revealed the emergence and spread of a single genetic cluster of CDV. The wide distribution of the novel cluster combined with the identification of a specific amino acid mutation, which is believed to increase the ability of the virus to replicate in a wider host range, raises concerns over the possible implications of the spread of this virus on the conservation of endangered wildlife species.
- Published
- 2011
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