Novel Orthopoxvirus and Lethal Disease in Cat, Italy

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 24; no. 9; pp. 1665 - 1673
• Main Authors: Lanave, Gianvito, Dowgier, Giulia, Decaro, Nicola, Albanese, Francesco, Brogi, Elisa, Parisi, Antonio, Losurdo, Michele, Lavazza, Antonio, Martella, Vito, Buonavoglia, Canio, Elia, Gabriella
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.09.2018; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: cat; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Genomics; Health aspects; Infection; lethal disease; next-generation sequencing; novel orthopoxvirus; Novel Orthopoxvirus and Lethal Disease in Cat, Italy; orthopoxvirus; Phylogeny; Skin; viruses; Germany; viruses; bioterrorism and preparedness; next-generation sequencing; lethal disease; cat; orthopoxvirus; Italy; phylogeny; zoonoses; novel orthopoxvirus
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2409.171283

We report detection and full-genome characterization of a novel orthopoxvirus (OPXV) responsible for a fatal infection in a cat. The virus induced skin lesions histologically characterized by leukocyte infiltration and eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions. Different PCR approaches were unable to assign the virus to a defined OPXV species. Large amounts of typical brick-shaped virions, morphologically related to OPXV, were observed by electron microscopy. This OPXV strain (Italy_09/17) was isolated on cell cultures and embryonated eggs. Phylogenetic analysis of 9 concatenated genes showed that this virus was distantly related to cowpox virus, more closely related to to ectromelia virus, and belonged to the same cluster of an OPXV recently isolated from captive macaques in Italy. Extensive epidemiologic surveillance in cats and rodents will assess whether cats are incidental hosts and rodents are the main reservoir of the virus. The zoonotic potential of this novel virus also deserves further investigation.