Identification and Prevalence of Phascolarctid Gammaherpesvirus Types 1 and 2 in South Australian Koala Populations.
Viruses 2020;
12:v12090948. [PMID:
32867109 PMCID:
PMC7552032 DOI:
10.3390/v12090948]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
To determine Phascolarctid gammaherpesviruses (PhaHV) infection in South Australian koala populations, 80 oropharyngeal swabs from wild-caught and 87 oropharyngeal spleen samples and swabs from euthanased koalas were tested using two specific PCR assays developed to detect PhaHV-1 and PhaHV-2. In wild-caught koalas, active shedding of PhaHV was determined by positive oropharyngeal samples in 72.5% (58/80) of animals, of which 44.8% (26/58) had PhaHV-1, 20.7% (12/58) PhaHV-2 and 34.5% (20/58) both viral subtypes. In the euthanased koalas, systemic infection was determined by positive PCR in spleen samples and found in 72.4% (63/87) of koalas. Active shedding was determined by positive oropharyngeal results and found in 54.0% (47/87) of koalas. Koalas infected and actively shedding PhaHV-1 alone, PhaHV-2 alone or shedding both viral subtypes were 48.9% (23/47), 14.9% (7/47) and 36.2% (17/47), respectively. Only 45.9% (40/87) were not actively shedding, of which 40.0% (16/40) of these had systemic infections. Both wild-caught and euthanased koalas actively shedding PhaHV-2 were significantly more likely to be actively shedding both viral subtypes. Active shedding of PhaHV-2 had a significant negative correlation with BCS in the euthanased cohort, and active shedding of PhaHV-1 had a significant positive relationship with age in both wild-caught and euthanased cohorts.
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