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Seropositivity to louping ill virus in dogs in the UK.
- Source :
-
The Veterinary record [Vet Rec] 2024 Oct 19; Vol. 195 (8), pp. e4702. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 30. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Background: Louping ill virus (LIV) is a tick-borne flavivirus that can cause fatal meningoencephalomyelitis in dogs. Four dogs with confirmed LIV infection and a case series of dogs with suspected flavivirus infection have been reported in the UK. However, underreporting of LIV infection due to lack of testing is suspected.<br />Methods: Surplus serum/plasma from 220 dogs was used to determine the seroprevalence of LIV by haemagglutination inhibition (HAI) test. Signalment and environmental factors were investigated for potential correlations with a positive titre (serum dilution of 1:20 or more).<br />Results: Two hundred and two dogs were suitable for inclusion in the study, nine of which (4.5%) were seropositive. Among the dogs investigated for neurological disease (40/202; 19.8%), six (15%) were seropositive. Ectoparasiticide use approached significance (p = 0.055) for being protective against LIV seropositivity.<br />Limitations: The main limitations were the specificity of the HAI test, the relatively small number of samples, the low number of seropositive dogs, the poor geographical distribution of the samples and the inherent limitations of questionnaire-based research.<br />Conclusion: The seroprevalence of LIV in the UK dog population appears to be low. However, LIV should be considered in dogs presenting with unexplained acute or subacute progressive neurological clinical signs, especially because of the recent reports of several dogs with clinical flavivirus infections.<br /> (© 2024 British Veterinary Association.)
- Subjects :
- Animals
Dogs
Seroepidemiologic Studies
United Kingdom epidemiology
Female
Male
Antibodies, Viral blood
Encephalitis, Tick-Borne epidemiology
Encephalitis, Tick-Borne veterinary
Flavivirus Infections veterinary
Flavivirus Infections epidemiology
Dog Diseases epidemiology
Dog Diseases virology
Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne isolation & purification
Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne immunology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2042-7670
- Volume :
- 195
- Issue :
- 8
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- The Veterinary record
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 39344584
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.4702