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A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Clinical Studies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 12197

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mario Forzan

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Guest Editor

Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Interests: animal viruses; wild animals; development of diagnostic techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Maurizio Mazzei

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Guest Editor

Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Interests: infectious diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Animal viruses represent a great percentage of viral pathogens diffused around the world. From honeybees to large animals, viral infectious diseases represent a serious treat for agriculture and farming with enormous economic losses in both developing and developed countries. Since viral evolution is a main cause of the emergence and re-emergence of several viral diseases, a proportion of those events could also be favoured by human behaviour, such as intense farming, globalisation, global warming, urbanization that can create diverse wildlife–livestock–human interfaces, as currently demonstrated by the SARS-COV-2 pandemic. Since viral diseases can have disparate origins, including those food and arthropod borne, their control could be rather difficult and require a one-health approach.

The aim of this Special Issue is to update on the situation regarding studies on animal viruses, including epidemiological, control, prophylaxis and technical aspects.

We invite colleagues to send original articles covering these aspects.

Prof. Mario Forzan
Prof. Maurizio Mazzei
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

animal viruses
domestic and wild animals
transmission routes
epidemiological data
development and application of diagnostic and prevention tools

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4689 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Systematic Identification and Comparison of the Expressed Profiles of Exosomal MiRNAs in Pigs Infected with NADC30-like PRRSV Strain

by Feng Cheng, Hui Wang, Lei Zhou, Ganqiu Lan, Hanchun Yang, Lixian Wang, Ligang Wang and Jing Liang

Animals 2023, 13(5), 876; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13050876 - 28 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1574

Abstract

Exosomes are biological vesicles secreted and released by cells that act as mediators of intercellular communication and play a unique role in virus infection, antigen presentation, and suppression/promotion of body immunity. Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is one of the most damaging pathogens in the pig industry and can cause reproductive disorders in sows, respiratory diseases in pigs, reduced growth performance, and other diseases leading to pig mortality. In this study, we used the PRRSV NADC30-like CHsx1401 strain to artificially infect 42-day-old pigs and isolate serum exosomes. Based on high-throughput sequencing technology, 305 miRNAs were identified in serum exosomes before and after infection, among which 33 miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed between groups (13 relatively upregulated and 20 relatively downregulated). Sequence conservation analysis of the CHsx1401 genome identified 8 conserved regions, of which a total of 16 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were predicted to bind to the conserved region closest to the 3′ UTR of the CHsx1401 genome, including 5 DE miRNAs capable of binding to the CHsx1401 3′ UTR (ssc-miR-34c, ssc-miR-375, ssc-miR-378, ssc-miR-486, ssc-miR-6529). Further analysis revealed that the target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were widely involved in exosomal function-related and innate immunity-related signaling pathways, and 18 DE miRNAs (ssc-miR-4331-3p, ssc-miR-744, ssc-miR-320, ssc-miR-10b, ssc-miR-124a, ssc-miR-128, etc.) associated with PRRSV infection and immunity were screened as potential functional molecules involved in the regulation of PRRSV virus infection by exosomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals Viruses)

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11 pages, 1340 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Canine Distemper Virus in Autochtonous and Imported Dogs, Southern Italy (2014–2021)

by Flora Alfano, Gianvito Lanave, Maria Gabriella Lucibelli, Gianluca Miletti, Nicola D’Alessio, Amalia Gallo, Clementina Auriemma, Maria Grazia Amoroso, Maria Stella Lucente, Esterina De Carlo, Vito Martella, Nicola Decaro and Giovanna Fusco

Animals 2022, 12(20), 2852; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202852 - 20 Oct 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2124

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the presence of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection in 949 autochthonous or illegally imported dogs from Southern Italy, over a period of eight years (2014–2021). CDV RNA was detected in 6.8% (65/949) of the animals tested, with no detection of CDV in dogs sampled in 2020–2021. The frequency of CDV detection was higher in imported dogs (19/103, 18.3%) with respect to stray (27/365, 7.4%) and household dogs (19/481, 3.9%). On sequence and phylogenetic analyses of selected strains, the analyzed viruses belonged to the Arctic clade, which has already been reported in Italy and in Europe. The results of our study may suggest a reduction of CDV circulation in Southern Italy, while at the same time highlighting the need for strict controls on dog importation, in order to prevent the introduction of viruses from endemic countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals Viruses)

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13 pages, 2492 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Full-Length Genome of the Equine Influenza A Virus Subtype H3N8 from 2019 Outbreak in Saudi Arabia

by Fanan A. Alaql, Ali N. Alhafufi, Samy Kasem, Yousef M. O. Alhammad, Hassan Albaqshi, Ameen Alyousaf, Faisal M. Alsubaie, Ahmed N. Alghamdi, Ahmed S. Abdel-Moneim and Sulaiman A. Alharbi

Animals 2022, 12(19), 2720; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192720 - 10 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1761

Abstract

Equine influenza is a major cause of respiratory infections in horses and can spread rapidly despite the availability of commercial vaccines. This study aimed to screen the incidence of equine influenza virus (EIV) and molecularly characterize the haemagglutinin and neuraminidase from positive EIV field samples collected from Saudi Arabia. Six-hundred twenty-one horses from 57 horse barns were screened for the presence of the clinical signs, suggestive for equine influenza, from different parts of Saudi Arabia. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from each horse showing respiratory distress. Samples from the same horse barn were pooled together and screened for the presence of the influenza A virus using quantitative real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Selective positive samples were subjected to full-length genome sequencing using MiSeq Illumina. Out of the total 57 pools, 39 were found positive to EIV using qRT-PCR. Full-length gene sequences were compared with representative EIV strains selected from the GenBank database. Phylogenetic analysis of the HA and NA genes revealed that the identified virus strains belong to H3N8 clade 1 of the Florida sublineage and were very similar to viruses identified in USA in 2019, with no current evidence for reassortment. This is one of the first reports providing detailed description and characterization of EIVs in Saudi Arabia. Detailed surveillance and genetic information sharing could allow genetic evolution of equine influenza viruses to be monitored more effectively on a global basis and aid in refinement of vaccine strain selection for EIV. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals Viruses)

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6 pages, 544 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Serological Survey of Small Ruminant Lentivirus Infections in Free-Ranging Mouflon and Chamois in Slovenia

by Urška Kuhar, Diana Žele Vengušt and Gorazd Vengušt

Animals 2022, 12(8), 1032; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12081032 - 15 Apr 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1621

Abstract

Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) belong to the genus Lentivirus in the Retroviridae family, which are responsible for the diseases maedi-visna and caprine arthritis-encephalitis in sheep and goats worldwide and are also widespread in Slovenian sheep and goats. SRLVs cause lifelong infections with chronic inflammatory lesions in various organ systems. Cross-species transmission of SRLV strains in sheep and goats is well documented, but there are few data on the ability of these viruses to infect wild ruminants. The objective of this study was to investigate whether SRLVs circulate among wild small ruminants in Slovenia. During the 2017–2018 hunting season, a total of 38 blood samples were collected from free-ranging chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) and European mouflon (Ovis ammon musimon). The serum samples were tested for antibodies against SRLV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The serological tests revealed that of all tested mouflons, 1 animal (11.1%) was seropositive, while all samples from chamois were negative. Based on the results of this study and considering the results of previous studies in which SRLV infections were detected in mouflons with low seroprevalence, it is very likely that the detected seropositive animal was an incidental spillover host for SRLV. Although no seropositive samples were found in chamois, we cannot speculate on whether chamois may not be a host for SRLV infection because of the small sample size and the disadvantages of the ELISA assay used when applied to samples from chamois. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals Viruses)

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13 pages, 30164 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Aqueous Leaf Extract of M. oleifera Inhibits PEDV Replication through Suppressing Oxidative Stress-Mediated Apoptosis

by Yanan Cao, Shuoshuo Zhang, Yanjie Huang, Shuai Zhang, Haifei Wang and Wenbin Bao

Animals 2022, 12(4), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12040458 - 13 Feb 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2258

Abstract

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), one of the serious enteric diseases caused by the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), is responsible for enormous economic losses in the global swine industry. However, available commercial vaccines fail to protect pigs from PEDV infection due to the appearance of PEDV variants. Hence, it is necessary to find an effective and cost-efficient natural product to protect pigs from PEDV infection. In this study, we first found that an aqueous leaf extract of M. oleifera (MOE) exhibited antiviral activity in response to PEDV infection. Furthermore, time-of-addition experiments revealed that MOE inhibited PEDV replication rather than attachment and internalization. Mechanistically, MOE significantly suppressed the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) induced by PEDV infection, and restored glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity. Importantly, the addition of MOE alleviated oxidative stress and the expression of inflammatory cytokines and resulted in fewer apoptotic cells during PEDV infection. These results indicated that MOE might be an effective anti-PEDV drug used to control PED disease and may be helpful in developing a new prophylactic and therapeutic strategy against PEDV. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals Viruses)

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9 pages, 2356 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Molecular Characterization and Pathogenicity of the Novel Recombinant Muscovy Duck Parvovirus Isolated from Geese

by Kuang-Po Li, Yu-Chen Hsu, Chih-An Lin, Poa-Chun Chang, Jui-Hung Shien, Hsien-Yueh Liu, Hua Yen and Shan-Chia Ou

Animals 2021, 11(11), 3211; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113211 - 10 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1695

Abstract

Goose parvovirus (GPV) and Muscovy duck parvovirus (MDPV) are the main agents associated with waterfowl parvovirus infections that caused great economic losses in the waterfowl industry. In 2020, a recombinant waterfowl parvovirus, 20-0910G, was isolated in a goose flock in Taiwan that experienced high morbidity and mortality. The whole genome of 20-0910G was sequenced to investigate the genomic characteristics of this isolate. Recombination analysis revealed that, like Chinese rMDPVs, 20-0910G had a classical MDPV genomic backbone and underwent two recombination events with classical GPVs at the P9 promoter and partial VP3 gene regions. Phylogenetic analysis of the genomic sequence found that this goose-origin parvovirus was highly similar to the circulating recombinant MDPVs (rMDPVs) isolated from duck flocks in China. The results of experimental challenge tests showed that 20-0910G caused 100% mortality in goose embryos and in 1-day-old goslings by 11 and 12 days post-inoculation, respectively. Taken together, the results indicated that this goose-origin rMDPV was closely related to the duck-origin rMDPVs and was highly pathogenic to young geese. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals Viruses)

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