Australian bat lyssavirus infection in two horses

Vet Microbiol. 2014 Oct 10;173(3-4):224-31. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2014.07.029. Epub 2014 Aug 19.

Abstract

In May 2013, the first cases of Australian bat lyssavirus infections in domestic animals were identified in Australia. Two horses (filly-H1 and gelding-H2) were infected with the Yellow-bellied sheathtail bat (YBST) variant of Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV). The horses presented with neurological signs, pyrexia and progressing ataxia. Intra-cytoplasmic inclusion bodies (Negri bodies) were detected in some Purkinje neurons in haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained sections from the brain of one of the two infected horses (H2) by histological examination. A morphological diagnosis of sub-acute moderate non-suppurative, predominantly angiocentric, meningo-encephalomyelitis of viral aetiology was made. The presumptive diagnosis of ABLV infection was confirmed by the positive testing of the affected brain tissue from (H2) in a range of laboratory tests including fluorescent antibody test (FAT) and real-time PCR targeting the nucleocapsid (N) gene. Retrospective testing of the oral swab from (H1) in the real-time PCR also returned a positive result. The FAT and immunohistochemistry (IHC) revealed an abundance of ABLV antigen throughout the examined brain sections. ABLV was isolated from the brain (H2) and oral swab/saliva (H1) in the neuroblastoma cell line (MNA). Alignment of the genome sequence revealed a 97.7% identity with the YBST ABLV strain.

Keywords: Australian bat lyssavirus; Equine non-suppurative meningoencephalomyelitis; Negri bodies; Yellow-bellied sheathtail bat.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Australia
  • Base Sequence
  • Encephalomyelitis, Equine / pathology
  • Encephalomyelitis, Equine / virology*
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases / pathology*
  • Horse Diseases / virology*
  • Horses
  • Immunohistochemistry / veterinary
  • Lyssavirus / genetics*
  • Male
  • Meningitis, Viral / pathology
  • Meningitis, Viral / veterinary*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nucleocapsid Proteins / genetics
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
  • Rhabdoviridae Infections / pathology
  • Rhabdoviridae Infections / veterinary*
  • Sequence Alignment / veterinary
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA / veterinary
  • Sequence Homology

Substances

  • Nucleocapsid Proteins