Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pseudorabies virus infection signs and testing in dogs in Slovenia
By Černe, Danijela et al.·Published in Transboundary and emerging diseases·2023·Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Detection of Pseudorabies in Dogs in Slovenia between 2006 and 2020: From Clinical and Diagnostic Features to Molecular Epidemiology.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A hunting dog in Slovenia was found to have facial itching and was diagnosed with pseudorabies (PR), a viral infection typically affecting pigs but also dangerous for dogs. This dog had direct contact with wild boar or raw wild boar meat, which is how the virus was likely transmitted. Testing confirmed the presence of the virus, and it was found that the strain affecting the dog was closely related to those found in wild boars and domestic pigs in Europe. Understanding this connection helps in managing the risks of PR in dogs, especially for those that hunt or have contact with wild animals.
People also search for: dog facial itching pseudorabies · hunting dog disease wild boar · symptoms of pseudorabies in dogs
Abstract
Pseudorabies (PR) is one of the most economically important diseases in domestic pigs. Since 2010, Slovenia has been free of PR in the domestic pig population, but the disease is endemic in the wild boar population, which can pose a real threat to domestic pigs and other animal species, including dogs. Between 2006 and 2020, infections with the PR virus (PRV) were reported in two pets and three hunting dogs from Slovenia that were found to have a direct contact with the wild boar or raw wild boar or pork meat. Typical clinical signs of PRV infection, including characteristic facial itching, cytopathic effect in cell cultures, positive immunocytochemistry, and positive PCR results confirmed the presence of PRV in all five cases investigated. A phylogenetic comparison of the partial glycoprotein C (gC) genomic region revealed that the Slovenian PRV isolates belong to clade A, with 95.78-100% nucleotide identity with strains isolated from dogs, domestic pigs, and wild boars from Europe. Within phylogenetic comparison of the partial glycoprotein D (gD) and partial glycoprotein E (gE) genomic regions of Slovenian PRV isolates, 100% and 99.12%-100% nucleotide identities were detected, respectively, suggesting low diversity between the PRV strains identified in dogs in Slovenia. This study provides the first molecular characterization of PRV in dogs and suggests that similar PRV strains circulate in the wild boar populations in this geographic area.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40303773/