Enteritis in an alpaca (Vicugna pacos) associated with a potentially novel adenovirus

• Published in: Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation Vol. 24; no. 5; pp. 1000 - 1003
• Main Authors: Twomey, David F, Grierson, Sylvia S, Martelli, Francesca, Higgins, Robert J, Jeffrey, Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.09.2012
• Subjects: Adenoviridae - classification; Adenoviridae - genetics; Adenoviridae - isolation & purification; Adenoviridae Infections - pathology; Adenoviridae Infections - veterinary; Adenoviridae Infections - virology; alpacas; amino acid sequences; Animals; Bovine adenovirus B; Camelids, New World; Canine adenovirus A; Cattle; electron microscopy; enteritis; Enteritis - pathology; Enteritis - veterinary; Enteritis - virology; Female; National Center for Biotechnology Information; nucleic acids; Phylogeny; polymerase chain reaction; small intestine; Vicugna
• ISSN: 1040-6387; 1943-4936
• DOI: 10.1177/1040638712452109

Adenovirus-associated enteritis was diagnosed by histopathology of small intestine in a 2-year-old alpaca (Vicugna pacos). Electron microscopy confirmed intracytoplasmic and intranuclear adenoviral particles within enterocytes. Nucleic acid was extracted from paraffin-embedded tissue sections, and a pan-adenovirus nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was employed to target a partial sequence of the polymerase gene. The PCR product (321 bp) was cloned and sequenced. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence against the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) nucleotide database demonstrated 68% identity with the isolates Canine adenovirus 1 and Bovine adenovirus 3. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence against the NCBI database demonstrated 75% identity with Bovine adenovirus 3. Phylogenetic analysis supported the relatively close relationship of this isolate to Bovine adenovirus 3, but the alpaca isolate was sufficiently distant to be considered a potentially novel adenovirus for this species.