A novel and highly divergent Canine Distemper Virus lineage causing distemper in ferrets in Australia

Ankita M George; Michelle Wille; Jianning Wang; Keith Anderson; Shari Cohen; Jean Moselen; Leo Y Y Lee; Willy W Suen; John Bingham; Antonia E Dalziel; Paul Whitney; Harry Stannard; Aeron C Hurt; David T Williams; Yi-Mo Deng; Ian G Barr

doi:10.1016/j.virol.2022.09.001

A novel and highly divergent Canine Distemper Virus lineage causing distemper in ferrets in Australia

Virology. 2022 Nov:576:117-126. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2022.09.001. Epub 2022 Sep 21.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: michelle.wille@sydney.edu.au.
³ CSIRO, Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ The Office of Research Ethics and Integrity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁶ WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: ian.barr@influenzacentre.org.

PMID: 36228351
DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2022.09.001

Abstract

Canine distemper virus (CDV) causes a highly contagious systemic infection in an array of animal species. In this study we report an outbreak of distemper in ferrets in two research facilities in Australia, caused by a novel lineage of CDV. While the CDV strain caused mainly mild symptoms in ferrets, histopathology results presented a typical profile of distemper pathology, with multi-system virus replication. Through the development of a discriminatory PCR, paired with full genome sequencing, we revealed that the outbreak was caused by a novel lineage of CDV. The novel CDV lineage was highly divergent, with less than 93% similarity across the H gene to other described lineages, including the vaccine strain, and diverged approximately 140-400 years ago. Enhanced surveillance to determine the prevalence of CDV in ferrets, dogs and other at-risk species is critical to better understand the presence and diversity of CDV in Australia currently.

Keywords: Australia; CDV; Canine distemper virus; Canine morbillivirus; Ferrets; Paramyxoviridae.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Australia / epidemiology
Distemper Virus, Canine* / genetics
Distemper* / epidemiology
Distemper* / prevention & control
Dogs
Ferrets