EWDA Conference

Healthy wildlife, healthy people

Abstractbook

European Wildlife Disease Association 13th to 16th of September 2010

Vlieland, The Netherlands
ORAL presentation 48
Possible role of pathogenic viruses in the decline
of the wild European eel stocks
van Beurden, Steven1; Engelsma, Marc1; Haenen, Olga1
1
Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen UR
Key words: European eel decline viruses
Background: The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) has
an extraordinary catadromic lifecycle with the spawning
grounds in the Sargasso Sea located more than 5,500 km away
from the growth habitats in the freshwater lakes and rivers of
Europe. Since the 1980s wild European eel stocks declined as
much as 99%. The cause of this massive decline is unknown,
but probably involves fisheries, pollution, migration barriers
and diseases. This study describes the presence and possible
consequences of pathogenic viruses in wild European eels in
the Netherlands.
Methods: From 1999 to 2007, almost 200 wild European
eels from several rivers and lakes in the Netherlands were
necroptized and tested for the presence of viruses. Organ
suspensions were inoculated on the eel kidney 1 cell line at
15, 20 and 26 °C for two passages. If cytopathic effect became
evident, the causative virus was characterized by subsequent
immunological assays and PCR.
Results: Anguillid herpesvirus 1 was found during the entire
monitoring period in eels originating from all parts of the
Netherlands. Rhabdovirus anguilla was only detected in eels
originating from two locations from 1999 to 2001. In none of
the eels Eel virus European was found. Clinical signs were not
necessarily correlated with virus infection.
Conclusions: While significant mortalities may result from
Anguillid herpesvirus 1 and Rhabdovirus anguilla infections
in eel culture, the pathogenicity of these viruses in wild eels
is still unclear. Experimental infections do not provide a
decisive answer. In addition, ambient water temperatures
in relation to optimal virus growth temperatures, and the
stressful consequences of migration should be taken into
consideration. The results of this study do not suggest
pathogenic viruses to be a major factor in the decline of the
wild European eel stocks, but viruses might play a role as part
of a multifactorial cause.
40 | Healthy wildlife, healthy people
ORAL presentation 49
Update on genetic analysis and the epidemiology
of ebhsv across Europe from 1999 to 2010
Iacovakis, Christos1; Touloudi, Antonia1; Hammer, Anne
Sofie2; Artois, Mark3; Spyrou, Vassiliki4; Barrow, Paul5; Sofia,
Marina6; Yon, Lisa7; Sokos, Christos1; Hutchings, Mike8;
Birtsas, Periklis9; Valiakos, George1; Giannakopoulos,
Alexios6; Gavier-Widen, Dolores10; Billinis, Charalambos1
1
Veterinary Faculty University of Thessaly CERETETH;
2
National Veterinary Institute; 3Veterinary School;
4
Technological Education Institution; 5School of Veterinary
Medicine Science University; 6Veterinary Faculty University
of Thessaly; 7School of Veterinary Medicine Science
University; 8Scottish Agricultural College; 9Technological
Education Institute; 10National Veterinary Institute
Key words: hares, molecular epidemiology, EBHS
European brown hare syndrome (EBHS) affects wild and
farmed hares of the species Lepus europaeus and Lepus
timidus. The disease was first reported during 1980s, and
occurred simultaneously in many European countries.
We report the first results on the prevalence and genetic
diversity of EBHSV infection across Europe. A total of
1347 liver samples from hares found dead or shot from 16
countries (Greece, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Bulgaria,
Germany, United Kingdom, Serbia, Croatia, Poland, France,
Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Israel) between 1999
and 2010 were collected and tested by reverse transcription-
PCR for EBHSV. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis was
performed in order to study the molecular epidemiology of
the syndrome in Europe for the past 11 years. Sequencing
analysis was performed on 212 nt of a 265bp RT-PCR
fragment of the region coding for VP60. So far, EBHSV has
been detected in 251 (18,63%) of the hare samples tested.
Currently, the highest prevalence has been recorded in
Greek, Danish and Bulgarian hare samples. Alignments
were performed on 205 EBHSV isolates and on 39 RHDV’s.
This analysis confirmed that the EBHSV and RHDV isolates
displayed 34-41% nucleotide variation. In the genomic region
analysed the maximum nucleotide variation was 15% for
the 205 EBHS viruses. Phylogenetic analysis showed that
all isolates were clustered in two major branches, further
divided in sub-clusters. So far, isolates cluster in time and
space and our results demonstrate that old isolates still exist,
contributing to genetic diversity and to the evolution of new
strains.