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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Vet. Sci.

Sec. Veterinary Infectious Diseases

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1527550

Detection of Canine Distemper Virus in wildlife in Italy (2022-2024)

Provisionally accepted
Flora Alfano Flora Alfano 1*Maria Gabriella Lucibelli Maria Gabriella Lucibelli 1Nicola D'Alessio Nicola D'Alessio 1Clementina Auriemma Clementina Auriemma 1Simona Rea Simona Rea 1Giovanni Sgroi Giovanni Sgroi 1Maria Stella Lucente Maria Stella Lucente 2Francesco Pellegrini Francesco Pellegrini 2Georgia Diakoudi Georgia Diakoudi 2Esterina De Carlo Esterina De Carlo 1Nicola Decaro Nicola Decaro 2Gianvito Lanave Gianvito Lanave 2Vito Martella Vito Martella 2Giovanna Fusco Giovanna Fusco 1
  • 1 Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici (NA), Italy
  • 2 Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano (Bari), Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    CDV has been detected in a wide range of domestic and wild animal also in Italy and it is highly prone to cross-species transmission, therefore representing a significant health risk.In this study the presence of CDV and other coinfecting selected viruses, in wild carnivorans of the family Mustelidae and Canidae and rodents of the family Hystricidae, collected in Southern Italy (Campania region), in 2022-2024, was investigated.Over a period of 3 years (2022-2024), tissue samples from 136 wild animals including stone martens, porcupines, otters, wolves, martens, badgers and foxes were examined. CDV RNA was detected in 14 (10.3%) animals encompassing badgers (n=6), foxes (n=5), wolves (n=2) and marten (n=1).The complete genome of a CDV strain was reconstructed from a spleen sample of a badger. On sequence and phylogenetic analyses, the novel CDV strain belonged to the Arctic clade, which has already been reported from badger and dog in Italy.Our study contributes to extend the knowledge on the epidemiology of CDV in wildlife and confirm the need for a continuous surveillance in wild animals to monitor the circulation in wildlife of viruses pathogenic for domestic carnivores and endangered wild species.

    Keywords: Canine distemper virus, wildlife, Badger, passive surveillance, Italy, phylogenetic analysis

    Received: 13 Nov 2024; Accepted: 12 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Alfano, Lucibelli, D'Alessio, Auriemma, Rea, Sgroi, Lucente, Pellegrini, Diakoudi, De Carlo, Decaro, Lanave, Martella and Fusco. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Flora Alfano, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici (NA), Italy

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