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An outbreak of visna-maedi in a flock of sheep in Southern Brazil

  • Veterinary Microbiology - Short Communication
  • Published:
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Abstract

Visna-maedi is a multisystemic and progressive inflammatory disease caused by a non-oncogenic retrovirus (Visna-maedi virus, VMV). An outbreak of visna-maedi occurred in Southern Brazil in sheep with clinical signs of blindness and stumbling gait. At post-mortem examination, all animals had similar lesions, including heavy non-collapsed lungs and multifocal yellow areas in the cerebral white matter, affecting mainly the periventricular region. These lesions corresponded histologically to lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia and histiocytic periventricular encephalitis surrounding areas of necrosis, in addition to significant demyelination in the brain. Serology was performed in all the sheep from the flock and 14% were seropositive for VMV. The presence of VMV was confirmed through PCR and partial sequencing of the 5′LTR. Sequencing demonstrated that the virus had 89.7 to 90.0% of nucleotide identity with VMV strains reported in the USA. This is the first description of clinical disease related to VMV in Brazil leading to economic losses. This study calls for the need to implement control measures to prevent the spread of small ruminant lentiviruses in Brazil.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the staff members of the Histology and Immunohistochemistry sections at the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (LADDL), School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA, for their assistance with routine and special stained slide preparation. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the members of the Setor de Patologia Veterinária from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, for their support. The authors also gratefully acknowledge Dr. Roberto Castro and Biovetech for performing the serology tests.

Funding

Financial support was supplied by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)- Finance Code 001, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), and Pró-reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Propesq/UFRGS). This study was also partially supported by Louisiana State University, School of Veterinary Medicine start-up fund (PG 002165) to Dr. Udeni B. R. Balasuriya.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Bianca S. Cecco, Luan C. Henker, Marina P. Lorenzett, Franciéli A. Molossi, Claiton I. Schwertz, David Driemeier, Saulo P. Pavarini & Luciana Sonne

  2. Laboratório de Virologia, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Letícia F. Baumbach, Matheus N. Weber & Cláudio W. Canal

  3. Department of Pathobiological Sciences and Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Ingeborg M. Langohr, Mariano Carossino & Udeni B. R. Balasuriya

Authors
  1. Bianca S. Cecco
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  2. Luan C. Henker
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  4. Franciéli A. Molossi
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Contributions

Bianca Santana de Cecco, Luan Cleber Henker, Marina Paula Lorenzett, Franciéli Adriane Molossi, Claiton Ismael Schwertz, Saulo Petinatti Pavarini, David Driemeier, and Luciana Sonne received and diagnosed the cases. Bianca Santana de Cecco wrote the manuscript. Luan Cleber Henker, Marina Paula Lorenzett, Franciéli Adriane Molossi, Saulo Petinatti Pavarini, David Driemeier, and Luciana Sonne contributed also to the review and editing of the manuscript. Matheus Nunes Weber, Letícia Baumbach, and Cláudio Wageck Canal performed virology tests. Mariano Carossino, Udeni Balasuryia, and Ingeborg Maria Langohr contributed with IHC techniques, review, and editing of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bianca S. Cecco.

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All cases described herein occurred spontaneously, with no experimentation, inoculation, or treatment of live animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Fernando R. Spilki

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Cecco, B.S., Henker, L.C., Lorenzett, M.P. et al. An outbreak of visna-maedi in a flock of sheep in Southern Brazil. Braz J Microbiol 53, 1723–1730 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-022-00763-9

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