Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May 26;16(5):e0252022.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252022. eCollection 2021.

RT-qPCR assay for detection of mink astrovirus in outbreaks of diarrhea on Danish mink farms

Sofie Barsøe  1 , Karin Ullman  2 , Mikael Leijon  2 , Kjell Olof Hedlund  3 , Jonas Klingström  4 , Louise Iuel Krarup  1 , Lars Andresen  1 , Michelle Lauge Quaade  1 , Anne Sofie Hammer  1
Affiliations

RT-qPCR assay for detection of mink astrovirus in outbreaks of diarrhea on Danish mink farms

Sofie Barsøe et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Diarrhea in mink kits is a major cause of disease and mortality in the mink production. The etiology remains unknown in most outbreaks due to a lack of diagnostic assays. In the current study we present an RT-qPCR method to detect mink astrovirus in fecal samples from mink kits with diarrhea. All sampled animals were classified based on age and patoanatomical evaluation as having pre-weaning diarrhea, diarrhea in the growth period or as having no macroscopic signs of diarrhea. Fecal samples were analyzed for MiAstV with RT-qPCR, next generation sequencing and electron microscopy in parallel. Mink astrovirus was detected with RT-qPCR in 92 out of 203 samples. This detection was confirmed by next generation sequencing in a high proportion of samples (22/27), and by visualization of astrovirus particles with EM in some of the samples. Mink astrovirus was highly prevalent (68%) among kits in the outbreaks of pre-weaning diarrhea, in particular outbreaks from May, while less prevalent in outbreaks in June. Mink astrovirus was detected in outbreaks of diarrhea in the growth period, though in a much lesser extent than in the pre-weaning period. The role of mink astrovirus in the diarrhea disease complex of mink remain to be investigated, and for that purpose this sensitive and robust RT-qPCR can be a valuable tool in the future.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. MiAstV std curve.
Performance and linearity of the mink astrovirus (MiAstV) qPCR was calculated based on the standard curve of a fivefold serial dilution series using a confirmed positive sample as template.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rattenborg E.; Dietz H.; Andersen T.; Møller S. Mortality in farmed mink: systematic collection versus arbitrary submissions for diagnostic investigation. Acta Vet Scand. 1999, 40, 307–314. 10.1186/BF03547010 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wilson D.J.; Baldwin T.J.; Whitehouse C.H.; Hullinger G. Causes of mortality in farmed mink in the Intermountain West, North America. J. Vet. Diagn. Invest. 2015, 27, 470–475, 10.1177/1040638715586438 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Clausen, T.; Dietz, H. Wet kits in mink. A review. In Proceedings of the VIII International Scientific Congress in Fur Animal Production; 2004.
    1. Larsen A.E.; Gorham J.R. A new mink enteritis: an initial report. Vet. Med. Small Anim. Clin. 1975, 70, 291–292. - PubMed
    1. Englund L.; Chriél M.; Dietz H.H.; Hedlund K.O. Astrovirus epidemiologically linked to pre-weaning diarrhoea in mink. Vet. Microbiol. 2002, 85, 1–11, 10.1016/s0378-1135(01)00472-2 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types