Veterinary virology is the study of
viruses in non-human animals. It is an important branch of
veterinary medicine
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
.
Rhabdoviruses
Rhabdovirus
''Rhabdoviridae'' is a family of negative-strand RNA viruses in the order '' Mononegavirales''. Vertebrates (including mammals and humans), invertebrates, plants, fungi and protozoans serve as natural hosts. Diseases associated with member vir ...
es are a diverse family of single stranded, negative sense RNA viruses that infect a wide range of hosts, from plants and insects, to fish and mammals. The ''Rhaboviridae'' family consists of six
genera, two of which, cytorhabdoviruses and nucleorhabdoviruses, only infect plants. Novirhabdoviruses infect fish, and vesiculovirus, lyssavirus and ephemerovirus infect mammals, fish and invertebrates. The family includes pathogens such as
rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, ...
virus,
vesicular stomatitis virus
''Indiana vesiculovirus'', formerly ''Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus'' (VSIV or VSV) is a virus in the family ''Rhabdoviridae''; the well-known ''Rabies lyssavirus'' belongs to the same family. VSIV can infect insects, cattle, horses and pigs ...
and
potato yellow dwarf virus that are of public health, veterinary, and agricultural significance.
Foot-and-mouth disease virus
Foot-and-mouth disease virus
''Foot-and-mouth disease virus'' (FMDV) is the pathogen that causes foot-and-mouth disease. It is a picornavirus, the prototypical member of the genus ''Aphthovirus''. The disease, which causes vesicles (blisters) in the mouth and feet of cattl ...
(FMDV) is a member of the
Aphthovirus genus in the
Picornaviridae
Picornaviruses are a group of related nonenveloped RNA viruses which infect vertebrates including fish, mammals, and birds. They are viruses that represent a large family of small, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses with a 30&nbs ...
family and is the cause of
foot-and-mouth disease in pigs, cattle, sheep and goats. It is a non-enveloped, positive strand, RNA virus. FMDV is a highly contagious virus. It enters the body through inhalation.
Pestiviruses
Pestivirus
''Pestivirus'' is a genus of viruses, in the family ''Flaviviridae''. Viruses in the genus ''Pestivirus'' infect mammals, including members of the family Bovidae (which includes cattle, sheep, and goats) and the family Suidae (which includes v ...
es have a single stranded, positive-sense RNA genomes. They cause
Classical swine fever
Classical swine fever (CSF) or hog cholera (also sometimes called pig plague based on the German word ) is a highly contagious disease of swine ( Old World and New World pigs). It has been mentioned as a potential bioweapon.
Clinical signs
...
(CSF) and
Bovine viral diarrhea
Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), bovine viral diarrhoea (UK English) or mucosal disease, and previously referred to as bovine virus diarrhea (BVD), is an economically significant disease of cattle that is found in the majority of countries throughout ...
(BVD). Mucosal disease is a distinct, chronic persistent infection, whereas BVD is an acute infection.
Arteriviruses
Arteriviruses are small, enveloped, animal viruses with an icosahedral core containing a positive-sense
RNA genome. The family includes
equine arteritis virus (EAV),
porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV),
lactate dehydrogenase elevating virus (LDV) of mice and
simian haemorrhagic fever virus
''Deltaarterivirus hemfev'', formerly ''Simian hemorrhagic fever virus'' or ''simian haemorrhagic fever virus'' (SHFV), is a highly pathogenic virus in monkeys. It is a positive-stranded RNA virus classified in the family ''Arteriviridae''. It ...
(SHFV).
Coronaviruses
Coronaviruses are enveloped viruses with a positive-sense RNA genome and with a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. They infect the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of mammals and birds. They are the cause of a wide range of diseases in cats, dog, pigs, rodents, cattle and humans. Transmission is by the faecal-oral route.
Toroviruses
Torovirus is a genus of viruses within the family ''
Coronaviridae
''Coronaviridae'' is a family of enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses which infect amphibians, birds, and mammals. The group includes the subfamilies '' Letovirinae'' and ''Orthocoronavirinae;'' the members of the latter are known as coronavi ...
'', subfamily ''Torovirinae'' that primarily infect
vertebrates
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...
and include Berne virus of horses and Breda virus of cattle. They cause
gastroenteritis in mammals, including humans but rarely.
Influenza
Influenza is caused by RNA viruses of the family
Orthomyxoviridae and affects birds and mammals.
Avian influenza
Wild aquatic birds are the natural hosts for a large variety of
influenza A viruses. Occasionally viruses are transmitted from this reservoir to other species and may then cause devastating outbreaks in domestic poultry or give rise to human influenza
pandemics.
Swine influenza
Bluetongue virus
Bluetongue virus
Bluetongue disease is a noncontagious, insect-borne, viral disease of ruminants, mainly sheep and less frequently cattle, yaks, goats, buffalo, deer, dromedaries, and antelope. It is caused by ''Bluetongue virus'' (''BTV''). The virus is ...
(BTV), a member of
Orbivirus
''Orbivirus'' is a genus of double-stranded RNA viruses in the family ''Reoviridae'' and subfamily '' Sedoreovirinae''. Unlike other reoviruses, orbiviruses are arboviruses. They can infect and replicate within a wide range of arthropod and ver ...
genus within the
Reoviridae
''Reoviridae'' is a family of double-stranded RNA viruses. Member viruses have a wide host range, including vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, protists and fungi. They lack lipid envelopes and package their segmented genome within multi-layere ...
family causes serious disease in livestock (sheep, goat, cattle). It is non-enveloped, double-stranded RNA virus. The genome is segmented.
Circoviruses
Circoviruses are small single-stranded DNA viruses. There are two genera: gyrovirus, with one species called chicken anemia virus; and circovirus, which includes porcine circovirus types 1 and 2, psittacine beak and feather disease virus, pigeon circovirus, canary circovirus, goose circovirus.
Herpesviruses
Herpesviruses are ubiquitous pathogens infecting a variety of animals, including humans. Hosts include many economically important species such as abalone, oysters, salmon, poultry (
avian infectious laryngotracheitis
''Gallid alphaherpesvirus 1'' (GaHV-1) is a species of virus in the order ''Herpesvirales'', family ''Herpesviridae'', subfamily ''Alphaherpesvirinae'', and genus ''Iltovirus''. Originally recognised in chickens in the United States in 1926, this ...
,
Marek's disease
Marek's disease is a highly contagious viral neoplastic disease in chickens. It is named after József Marek, a Hungarian veterinarian who described it in 1907. Marek's disease is caused by an alphaherpesvirus known as "Marek's disease virus" ...
), cattle (
bovine malignant catarrhal fever), dogs, goats, horses, cats (
feline viral rhinotracheitis
Feline viral rhinotracheitis (FVR) is an upper respiratory or pulmonary infection of cats caused by ''Felid alphaherpesvirus 1'' (FeHV-1), of the family ''Herpesviridae''. It is also commonly referred to as feline influenza, feline coryza, and ...
), and pigs (
pseudorabies
Aujeszky's disease, usually called pseudorabies in the United States, is a viral disease in swine that has been endemic in most parts of the world. It is caused by ''Suid herpesvirus 1'' (SuHV-1). Aujeszky's disease is considered to be the mos ...
). Infections may be severe and may result in fatalities or reduced productivity. Therefore, outbreaks of herpesviruses in livestock cause significant financial losses and are an important area of study in veterinary virology.
African swine fever virus
African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large double-stranded
DNA virus which replicates in the
cytoplasm
In cell biology, the cytoplasm is all of the material within a eukaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, except for the cell nucleus. The material inside the nucleus and contained within the nuclear membrane is termed the nucleoplasm. ...
of infected cells and is the only member of the
Asfarviridae family. The virus causes a lethal haemorraghic disease in domestic pigs. Some strains can cause death of animals within as little as a week after infection. In other species, the virus causes no obvious disease. ASFV is endemic to
sub-Saharan Africa and exists in the wild through a cycle of infection between ticks and wild pigs, bushpigs and warthogs.
Retroviruses
Retroviruses are established pathogens of veterinary importance. They are generally a cause of cancer or immune deficiency.
Flaviviruses
Flavivirus
''Flavivirus'' is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Flaviviridae''. The genus includes the West Nile virus, dengue virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, Zika virus and several other viruses which may cau ...
es constitute a family of linear, single-stranded RNA(+) viruses. Flaviviruses include the
West Nile virus
West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is a member of the family '' Flaviviridae'', from the genus '' Flavivirus'', which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. The v ...
,
dengue virus,
Tick-borne Encephalitis
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral infectious disease involving the central nervous system. The disease most often manifests as meningitis, encephalitis or meningoencephalitis. Myelitis and spinal paralysis also occurs. In about one thir ...
Virus,
Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...
Virus, and several other viruses. Many flavivirus species can replicate in both mammalian and insect cells. Most flaviviruses are
arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...
borne and multiply in both vertebrates and arthropods. The viruses in this family that are of veterinary importance include
Japanese encephalitis virus
Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an infection of the brain caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). While most infections result in little or no symptoms, occasional inflammation of the brain occurs. In these cases, symptoms may include he ...
,
St. Louis encephalitis virus,
West Nile virus
West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is a member of the family '' Flaviviridae'', from the genus '' Flavivirus'', which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. The v ...
,
Israel turkey meningoencephalomyelitis virus,
Sitiawan virus,
Wesselsbron virus
''Wesselsbron'' (WSL) ''virus'' is an arthropod-borne virus in the genus ''Flavivirus'' of the family ''Flaviviridae'' that causes Wesselsbron disease in cattle, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, donkeys, horses, ostriches, and wild ruminants with o ...
, yellow fever virus and the tick-borne flaviviruses e.g.
louping ill virus.
Paramyxoviruses
Paramyxoviruses are a diverse family of non-segmented negative strand RNA viruses that include many highly pathogenic viruses affecting humans, animals, and birds. These include
canine distemper virus
Canine may refer to:
Zoology and anatomy
* a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae
** ''Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals
** Dog, the domestic dog
* Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy
People with the surn ...
(
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
s),
phocine distemper virus (
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
s), cetacean morbillivirus (
dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
s and
porpoises)
Newcastle disease virus (
birds) and
rinderpest virus (
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
). Some paramyxoviruses such as the
henipavirus
''Henipavirus'' is a genus of negative-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Paramyxoviridae'', order ''Mononegavirales'' containing six established species, and numerous others still under study. Henipaviruses are naturally harboured by several sp ...
es are
zoonotic
A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a bacterium, virus, parasite or prion) that has jumped from a non-human (usually a vertebrate) to a human. ...
pathogens, occurring primarily in an animal hosts, but also able to infect humans.
Parvovirus
Parvoviruses are linear, non-segmented single-stranded
DNA virus
A DNA virus is a virus that has a genome made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that is replicated by a DNA polymerase. They can be divided between those that have two strands of DNA in their genome, called double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses, and ...
es, with an average genome size of 5000 nucleotides. They are classified as group II viruses in Baltimore classification of viruses. Parvoviruses are among the smallest viruses (hence the name, from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''parvus'' meaning ''small'') and are 18–28
nm in diameter.
Parvoviruses can cause
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
in some
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s, including
starfish and humans. Because the viruses require actively dividing cells to replicate, the type of tissue infected varies with the age of the animal. The
gastrointestinal tract and
lymphatic system can be affected at any age, leading to vomiting, diarrhea and
immunosuppression
Immunosuppression is a reduction of the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immunosuppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reacti ...
but
cerebellar hypoplasia
Cerebellar hypoplasia is characterized by reduced cerebellar volume, even though cerebellar shape is (near) normal. It consists of a heterogeneous group of disorders of cerebellar maldevelopment presenting as early-onset non–progressive conge ...
is only seen in cats that were infected in the womb or at less than two weeks of age, and disease of the
myocardium is seen in puppies infected between the ages of three and eight weeks.
See also
*
Bat virome
The bat virome is the virome, group of viruses associated with bats. Bats host a diverse array of viruses, including all seven types described by the Baltimore classification, Baltimore classification system: (I) double-stranded DNA viruses; (I ...
*
History of virology
The history of virology – the scientific study of viruses and the infections they cause – began in the closing years of the 19th century. Although Louis Pasteur and Edward Jenner developed the first vaccines to protect against viral infection ...
*
Social history of viruses
*
Virus evolution
References
{{reflist, 2
Molecular biology
Animal viral diseases