Herpesvirus infection in a breeding population of two coexisting Strix owls

Žlabravec, Zoran (author), Vrezec, Al (author), Slavec, Brigita (author), Kuhar, Urška (author), Zorman-Rojs, Olga (author), Račnik, Joško (author)

Birds are a frequent host of a large variety of herpesviruses, and infections in them may go unnoticed or may result in fatal disease. In wild breeding populations of owls, there is very limited information about the presence, impact, and potential transmission of herpesvirus. The herpesvirus partial DNA polymerase gene was detected using polymerase chain reaction in oropharyngeal swabs of 16 out of 170 owls examined that were captured in or near nest boxes. Herpesvirus was detected in Ural owls (Strix uralensis), in both adults and young, but not in tawny owls (Strix aluco). In yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis), as the main prey of tawny owls and Ural owls in the area, herpesvirus was detected in the organs of 2 out of 40 mice captured at the same locations as the owls. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the herpesvirus sequences detected in the Ural owls differed from the herpesvirus sequences detected in the yellow-necked mice. The results indicate that herpesvirus infection exists in the breeding wild Ural owl population. However, herpesvirus-infected owls did not show any clinical or productivity deviances and, based on a phylogenetic comparison of detected herpesvirus sequences and sequences obtained from Genbank database, it seems that mice and other rodents are not the source of owl infections. The most probable transmission pathway is intraspecific, especially from adults to their chicks, but the origin of herpesvirus in owls remains to be investigated.

• Language: English
• Keywords: wildlife, predator-prey interaction, disease transmission, Ural owl, tawny owl, yellow-necked mouse, polymerase chain reaction, Slovenia, Herpesviridae infections, Strigiformes
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: VF - Veterinary Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 11 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 9, art. 2519
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-132126
• UDC: 636.09:616:578
• ISSN on article: 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani11092519
• COBISS.SI-ID: 74512899
• Publication date in RUL: 13.10.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Animals
• Shortened title: Animals
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2076-2615
• COBISS.SI-ID: 519120409

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• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.09.2021