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Case Reports
. 2022 Jan 6;19(1):10.
doi: 10.1186/s12985-021-01738-2.

Identification of equine herpesvirus 8 in donkey abortion: a case report

Tongtong Wang #  1 , Leyu Hu #  2 , Yonghui Wang  1 , Wenqiang Liu  1 , Guiqin Liu  1 , Mingxia Zhu  1 , Wei Zhang  3 , Changfa Wang  4 , Huiying Ren  5 , Liangliang Li  6
Affiliations
Case Reports

Identification of equine herpesvirus 8 in donkey abortion: a case report

Tongtong Wang et al. Virol J. .

Abstract

Background: Equine herpesvirus-8 (EHV-8) is one of the most economically significant viruses that infect mammals of the genus Equus worldwide, which cause severe respiratory diseases and abortion in horses. However, there is no report of abortion caused by EHV-8 in donkeys.

Case presentation: The present case report is about a 4-year-old donkey having an abortion and showing a serious respiratory issue on the 296th day of pregnancy. Bacteriological and molecular tests were used to screen possible bacterial/viral pathogens to detect the etiological agent. Salmonella abortus equi, EHV-1, EHV-4, and EAV were all negative in the current study. EHV-8, on the other hand, was the only agent that was isolated and identified.

Conclusions: This was for the first time that EHV-8 had been isolated from a donkey in China. EHV-8 infection can cause abortion in donkeys; therefore, veterinarians and breeders should be aware of it.

Keywords: Abortion; Donkey; Equid herpesviruses 8; Virus isolation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Gross lesions of an aborted fetus. a Aborted fetuses of donkey; b Heart; c Lungs and liver
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Screening of virus pathogens. Viral DNA/RNA was extracted from tissues, and EAV (a), EHV-1 (b), EHV-4 (c), EHV-8 (d) were detected by RT/PCR and PCR. Lane M represents a 5000 bp DNA molecular weight ladder. 1 represents negative control, 2 represents liver, 3 represents placenta, 4 represents umbilical cord, 5 represent lungs
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Representative images of immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining for EHV-8 using the positive serum. IHC was performed to detect the EHV-8 antigen. The PBS-treated group was negative control, umbilical cord (A) and placenta (B). The experimental group was treated with EHV-8 positive serum on the umbilical cord (a) and placenta (b) tissues. Scale bars, 50 μm
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Isolation and identification of EHV-8. The RK-13 cells were inoculated with supernatant of EHV-8-positive placenta (right panel) or mock control (left panel). a A total of 48 h post-infection, the CPE was observed using microscopy. Scale bars, 100 µm. b Identification of EHV-8 isolate by IFA. CPE-positive RK-13 cells and mock control cells were fixed with 75% alcohol. Images represent the subcellular locations of EHV-8 proteins using indirect immunofluorescence detection using anti-EHV-8 mouse serum, and the corresponding DyLight 594-conjugated secondary antibodies. Cells were imaged by Leica DMi8. Scale bars, 50 µm. c PCR detection of the EHV-8 ORF70 genes from a different group. The DNA was extracted from these cells. PCR products were electrophoresed in a 1% agarose gel. Marker (lane M) was included on the left, 1 represents negative control, 2 represents mock control RK-13 cell, 3 represents the CPE positive RK-13 cells
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