Fatal tick-borne encephalitis virus infection in Dalmatian puppy-dogs after putative vector independent transmission
AbstractIn a retrospective metatranscriptomics study, we identified tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) to be the causative agent for a fatal non-suppurative meningoencephalitis in a three-week-old Dalmatian puppy in Switzerland. Further investigations showed that the two other littermates with sim...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Quarterly |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01652176.2024.2338385 |
| _version_ | 1797201222182109184 |
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| author | Kara L. D. Dawson Giuliana Rosato Simone Egloff Carole Burgener Anna Oevermann Paula Grest Monika Hilbe Torsten Seuberlich |
| author_facet | Kara L. D. Dawson Giuliana Rosato Simone Egloff Carole Burgener Anna Oevermann Paula Grest Monika Hilbe Torsten Seuberlich |
| author_sort | Kara L. D. Dawson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AbstractIn a retrospective metatranscriptomics study, we identified tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) to be the causative agent for a fatal non-suppurative meningoencephalitis in a three-week-old Dalmatian puppy in Switzerland. Further investigations showed that the two other littermates with similar signs and pathological lesions were also positive for TBEV. By using an unbiased approach of combining high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and bioinformatics we were able to solve the etiology and discover an unusual case of TBEV in three young puppies. Based on our findings, we suggest that a vector-independent transmission of TBEV occurred and that most likely an intrauterine infection led to the severe and fulminant disease of the entire litter. We were able to demonstrate the presence of TBEV RNA by in situ hybridization (ISH) in the brain of all three puppies. Furthermore, we were able to detect TBEV by RT-qPCR in total RNA extracted from formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded (FFPE) blocks containing multiple peripheral organs. Overall, our findings shed light on alternative vector-independent transmission routes of TBEV infections in dogs and encourage veterinary practitioners to consider TBEV as an important differential diagnosis in neurological cases in dogs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:44:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ee64f0ed643c45a094d6914aaf5841c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0165-2176 1875-5941 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:44:06Z |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Quarterly |
| spelling | doaj.art-ee64f0ed643c45a094d6914aaf5841c12024-04-19T05:09:04ZengTaylor & Francis GroupVeterinary Quarterly0165-21761875-59412024-12-014411710.1080/01652176.2024.2338385Fatal tick-borne encephalitis virus infection in Dalmatian puppy-dogs after putative vector independent transmissionKara L. D. Dawson0Giuliana Rosato1Simone Egloff2Carole Burgener3Anna Oevermann4Paula Grest5Monika Hilbe6Torsten Seuberlich7Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandInstitute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandClinic of Reproductive Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandInstitute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDivision of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandInstitute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandInstitute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDivision of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandAbstractIn a retrospective metatranscriptomics study, we identified tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) to be the causative agent for a fatal non-suppurative meningoencephalitis in a three-week-old Dalmatian puppy in Switzerland. Further investigations showed that the two other littermates with similar signs and pathological lesions were also positive for TBEV. By using an unbiased approach of combining high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and bioinformatics we were able to solve the etiology and discover an unusual case of TBEV in three young puppies. Based on our findings, we suggest that a vector-independent transmission of TBEV occurred and that most likely an intrauterine infection led to the severe and fulminant disease of the entire litter. We were able to demonstrate the presence of TBEV RNA by in situ hybridization (ISH) in the brain of all three puppies. Furthermore, we were able to detect TBEV by RT-qPCR in total RNA extracted from formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded (FFPE) blocks containing multiple peripheral organs. Overall, our findings shed light on alternative vector-independent transmission routes of TBEV infections in dogs and encourage veterinary practitioners to consider TBEV as an important differential diagnosis in neurological cases in dogs.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01652176.2024.2338385Tick-borne encephalitis viruspuppiesmetatranscriptomicshigh-throughput sequencing |
| spellingShingle | Kara L. D. Dawson Giuliana Rosato Simone Egloff Carole Burgener Anna Oevermann Paula Grest Monika Hilbe Torsten Seuberlich Fatal tick-borne encephalitis virus infection in Dalmatian puppy-dogs after putative vector independent transmission Veterinary Quarterly Tick-borne encephalitis virus puppies metatranscriptomics high-throughput sequencing |
| title | Fatal tick-borne encephalitis virus infection in Dalmatian puppy-dogs after putative vector independent transmission |
| title_full | Fatal tick-borne encephalitis virus infection in Dalmatian puppy-dogs after putative vector independent transmission |
| title_fullStr | Fatal tick-borne encephalitis virus infection in Dalmatian puppy-dogs after putative vector independent transmission |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fatal tick-borne encephalitis virus infection in Dalmatian puppy-dogs after putative vector independent transmission |
| title_short | Fatal tick-borne encephalitis virus infection in Dalmatian puppy-dogs after putative vector independent transmission |
| title_sort | fatal tick borne encephalitis virus infection in dalmatian puppy dogs after putative vector independent transmission |
| topic | Tick-borne encephalitis virus puppies metatranscriptomics high-throughput sequencing |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01652176.2024.2338385 |
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