Evidence for a novel gammaherpesvirus as the putative agent of malignant catarrhal fever disease in roan antelopes (Hippotragus equinus)

Kaiser, Franziska, Karola; de le Roi, Madeleine; Mirolo, Monica; Jesse, Sonja, Tatjana; Puff, Christina; Bohner, Julia; Ludlow, Martin; Baumgärtner, Wolfgang; Osterhaus, Albert

doi:10.3390/v15030649

Article / Chapter 2023 CC BY 4.0

Published

Evidence for a novel gammaherpesvirus as the putative agent of malignant catarrhal fever disease in roan antelopes (Hippotragus equinus)

Kaiser, Franziska Karola ; de le Roi, Madeleine ; Mirolo, Monica ; Jesse, Sonja Tatjana ; Puff, Christina ; Bohner, Julia; Ludlow, Martin ; Baumgärtner, Wolfgang ; Osterhaus, Albert

Upon the sudden death of two captive roan antelopes (Hippotragus equinus) that had suffered from clinical signs reminiscent of malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) in a German zoo, next generation sequencing of organ samples provided evidence of the presence of a novel gammaherpesvirus species. It shares 82.40% nucleotide identity with its so far closest relative Alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1) at the polymerase gene level. The main histopathological finding consisted of lympho-histiocytic vasculitis of the pituitary rete mirabile. The MCF-like clinical presentation and pathology, combined with the detection of a nucleotide sequence related to that of AlHV-1, indicates a spillover event of a novel member of the genus Macavirus of the Gammaherpesvirinae, probably from a contact species within the zoo. We propose the name Alcelaphine herpesvirus 3 (AlHV-3) for this newly identified virus.