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Seropositivity to louping ill virus in dogs in the UK.

Authors :
Elgueta I
Allen K
Liatis T
Gonzalo-Nadal V
Laming E
Dagleish MP
Jamieson PM
Innocent G
Rocchi MS
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.)

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