Is Penguin Circovirus Circulating Only in the Antarctic Circle? Lack of Viral Detection in Namibia

The known host range of circoviruses is continuously expanding because of more intensive diagnostic activities and advanced sequencing tools. Recently, a new circovirus (penguin circovirus (PenCV)) was identified in the guano and cloacal samples collected from Adélie penguins ( ) and chinstrap pengu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animals (Basel) 2023-04, Vol.13 (9), p.1449
Main Authors: Roberts, Laura C, Molini, Umberto, Coetzee, Lauren M, Khaiseb, Siegfried, Roux, Jean-Paul, Kemper, Jessica, Roberts, David G, Ludynia, Katrin, Doherr, Marcus, Abernethy, Darrell, Franzo, Giovanni
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Birds
Circoviridae
Colonies
Communication
Disease transmission
Dung
Endangered & extinct species
Genomes
Guano
Health aspects
Host range
Infection
Infections
Islands
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Molecular biology
molecular epidemiology
Namibia
penguin
penguin circovirus (PenCV)
Penguins
Proteins
Pygoscelis adeliae
Pygoscelis antarcticus
Sample size
Spheniscus demersus
Viruses
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:The known host range of circoviruses is continuously expanding because of more intensive diagnostic activities and advanced sequencing tools. Recently, a new circovirus (penguin circovirus (PenCV)) was identified in the guano and cloacal samples collected from Adélie penguins ( ) and chinstrap penguins ( ) in Antarctica. Although the virus was detected in several asymptomatic subjects, a potential association with feather disease was speculated. To investigate the occurrence and implications of PenCV in other penguin species located outside of Antarctica, a broad survey was undertaken in African penguins ( ) on two islands off the southern Namibian coast. For this purpose, specific molecular biology assays were developed and validated. None of the 151 blood samples tested positive for PenCV. Several reasons could explain the lack of PenCV positive samples. African penguins and species are separated by approximately 6000 km, so there is almost no opportunity for transmission. Similarly, host susceptibility to PenCV might be penguin genus-specific. Overall, the present study found no evidence of PenCV in African penguin colonies in Namibia. Further dedicated studies are required to assess the relevance of PenCV among different penguin species.
ISSN:2076-2615
2076-2615
DOI:10.3390/ani13091449