Bovine Polyomavirus 2 is a Probable Cause of Non-Suppurative Encephalitis in Cattle

Tissues from two cows with neurological signs that were admitted to the Vetsuisse Faculty under suspicion of rabies and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), respectively, were further analyzed for this case report. After histopathological examination and exclusion of BSE and rabies, the animals w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pathogens (Basel) 2020-08, Vol.9 (8), p.620
Main Authors: Hierweger, Melanie M., Koch, Michel C., Seuberlich, Torsten
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal tissues
Animals
Antigens
Beef
Beef cattle
Binding sites
bovine polyomavirus 2
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Brain
Brain research
Case Report
Cattle
Cell cycle
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Encephalitis
Epidemiology
Etiology
Gene sequencing
Genomes
Hybridization
Infections
neurological disease
Next-generation sequencing
non-suppurative encephalitis
Nucleic acids
Phylogeny
Proteins
Rabies
Transplants & implants
virus discovery
Viruses
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Summary:Tissues from two cows with neurological signs that were admitted to the Vetsuisse Faculty under suspicion of rabies and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), respectively, were further analyzed for this case report. After histopathological examination and exclusion of BSE and rabies, the animals were diagnosed with etiologically unresolved disseminated non-suppurative encephalitis. Using next-generation sequencing, we detected the full genome of bovine polyomavirus 2 (BoPyV2) in brain samples from both animals. This virus has been identified in beef samples in three independent studies conducted in the United States and Germany, but has not been linked to any disease. Analysis of the two new BoPyV2 genome sequences revealed close phylogenetic relationships to one another and to BoPyV2 isolates detected in beef samples. In situ hybridization demonstrated the presence of viral nucleic acid in all investigated brain areas and in areas with signs of inflammation in both animals. Thus, we provide the first evidence that BoPyV2 is a probable cause of non-suppurative encephalitis in cattle, and encourage further molecular and serological testing to elucidate the disease’s epidemiology, as well as experimental transmission studies to prove causality between the infection and disease.
ISSN:2076-0817
2076-0817
DOI:10.3390/pathogens9080620