Pestivirus infection in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

Abstract

Reindeer species (Rangifer tarandus, Linnaeus, 1758) includes wild and semi-domesticated ruminants belonging to Capreaolinae subfamily of Cervidae family reared in Eurasia (reindeer subspecies) and North America (caribou subspecies). Herding of reindeer has a great historical, socio-economic and ecological importance, especially to indigenous ethnic minorities. Infectious disease threats may therefore impact not solely the animal population driving it to further extinction and irreversible alterations to the wild environments of northern hemisphere, but also add to cultural changes observed as negative impact of globalization. Introduction of new technologies to control of reindeer migration between dwindling pasture areas and intensification of reindeer husbandry may facilitate the intra- and interspecies transmission of pathogens. The role of the reindeer as a potential BVDV reservoir has been studied, however, the number of publications is rather limited. The observed seroprevalences of the virus varied significantly between different geographical regions with different epidemiological situation. Most frequently limited number of animals studied and the differences in the sensitivities and specificities of the diagnostic test used could have also influenced on the differences between the studies. No pestivirus has been ever detected in free-ranging reindeer, however, a putative pestivirus strain named V60-Krefeld has been isolated from reindeer kept at a German Zoo in the 1990’s. The virus was characterized as border disease virus type 2 (BDV-2) closely related to German ovine strains. The cross-neutralization studies of the semi-domesticated reindeer sera from Sweden suggested infection with a strain related to BDV-1 or BDV-2. The available data indicates that reindeer might be infected by a endemic species-specific BDV-like strain. However, the interspecies transmission of BVDV from domestic animals should not be excluded, since the susceptibility of reindeer to BVDV-1 has been confirmed under experimental conditions.

Seroprevalence of pestivirus in Eurasian tundra reindeer in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Russian Federation

“…There were also more than 30 years between the previous and present study, in which time the pestivirus infection may have cleared from the reindeer population in Finland, as described for cattle herds [21]. It is also important to note that Finland has eradicated BVDV from its cattle population since the previous study, as have Sweden and Norway [3]. However, the BVDfree status of cattle in Sweden and Norway has not affected pestivirus seroprevalence in reindeer in those countries, where the overall seroprevalence detected in the present study was similar or higher than previously reported [5,7,9,17,22].…”

“…Semidomesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) are herded by indigenous people in Eurasia, among whom they hold great historical, cultural, socio-economic and ecological importance [2]. Previous studies of pestivirus infection in reindeer, most recently reviewed by Larska [3], have reported the seroprevalence in Finland [4], Norway [5][6][7] and Sweden [8,9]. However, there is a need to update the current information.…”

Multi-pathogen serological survey of migratory caribou herds: A snapshot in time

“…Although the assays used in this study detected antibodies reacting against antigens of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1), they also cross-react with antibodies to cervid-specific viruses [91,92]. The lack of direct contact between domestic ruminants and Rangifer further suggests an independent infection process with cervid-specific viruses [93]. An alphaherpesvirus, designated cervid herpesvirus 2 (CvHV2), has been isolated from reindeer on multiple occasions [49,50,[94][95][96].…”

Screening of Eurasian Tundra Reindeer for Viral Sequences by Next-Generation Sequencing

“…[ [11][12][13][14][15] Herpesviridae Alphaherpesvirinae Cervid herpesvirus 2 (CvHV2) is enzootic in the Fennoscandian reindeer populations and antibodies against alphaherpesvirus have also been detected in caribou in Alaska (USA) and Canada. CvHV2 has been shown to act as the primary cause of infectious keratoconjunctivitis in reindeer during outbreaks and after experimental ocular inoculation, although many types of bacteria may contribute to the disease.…”