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Prevalence and Molecular Analysis of Encephalomyocarditis Virus-2 in the Hazel Dormouse

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Abstract

The hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) population in the UK continues to decline due to habitat loss, despite reintroductions of captive-bred individuals being conducted nationally for over 30 years. Disease surveillance of captive-bred and wild dormice is performed to identify novel and existing disease threats which could impact populations. In this study, we firstly investigated cause of death in seven hazel dormice found dead in England, through next-generation sequencing identifying a virus closely related to a wood mouse encephalomyocarditis virus-2 (EMCV-2). Subsequently, lung tissue samples from 35 out of 44 hazel dormice tested positive for EMCV-2 RNA using a reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Sanger sequencing methods developed in this study. Formalin-fixed tissues available for nine hazel dormice which tested positive for EMCV-2 RNA were examined microscopically. Three cases showed moderate interstitial pneumonia with minimal to mild lymphoplasmacytic myocarditis, but no evidence of encephalitis. However, the presence of possible alternative causes of death in these cases means that the lesions cannot be definitively attributed to EMCV-2. Here, we report the first detection of EMCV-2 in hazel dormice and conclude that EMCV-2 is likely to be endemic in the hazel dormouse population in England and may be associated with clinical disease.

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Author Anthony W. Sainsbury is a listed Editor for EcoHealth

Funding

The authors declared financial support for the research from Natural England (Agreement number Ecm 65292), People’s Trust for Endangered Species, the Royal Veterinary College and the Animal and Plant Health Agency. The authors declared no financial support for the authorship and/or publication of this article.

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Author notes

  1. Louise Gibson and Tammy Shadbolt these authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, NW1 4RY, UK

    Louise Gibson, Tammy Shadbolt, Georgina Gerard, Ethan Wrigglesworth, Anthony W. Sainsbury, Helen Donald, Jenny E. Jaffe, Inez Januszczak, Liam D. Fitzpatrick & Simon Spiro

  2. Royal Veterinary College, London, UK

    Tammy Shadbolt, Pranab Paul & Caela Burrell

  3. Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong, Bangladesh

    Pranab Paul

  4. Natural England, London, UK

    Helen Donald

  5. Tai Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

    Jenny E. Jaffe

  6. Natural History Museum, London, UK

    Inez Januszczak

  7. UK Health Security Agency, London, UK

    Liam D. Fitzpatrick

  8. Animal and Plant Health Agency-Weybridge, Surrey, UK

    Hannah Davies & Akbar Dastjerdi

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  1. Louise Gibson
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Correspondence to Louise Gibson.

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Gibson, L., Shadbolt, T., Paul, P. et al. Prevalence and Molecular Analysis of Encephalomyocarditis Virus-2 in the Hazel Dormouse. EcoHealth (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-024-01680-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-024-01680-z

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