Virus Research 57 (1998) 53–62
Molecular analysis of encephalomyocarditis viruses isolated
from pigs and rodents in Italy
N.J. Knowles
a,
*, N.D. Dickinson
a
, G. Wilsden
a
, E. Carra
b
, E. Brocchi
b
,
F. De Simone
b
a
Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright Laboratory, Ash Road, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey GU
24 0
NF, UK
b
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell
’
Emilia
‘
B. Ubertini
’
, Via A. Bianchi
7
,
25125
Brescia, Italy
Received 5 February 1998; received in revised form 30 June 1998; accepted 30 June 1998
Abstract
Partial nucleotide sequences of encephalomyocarditis (EMC) viruses isolated from five, apparently independent,
outbreaks of fatal myocarditis in pigs in Italy were compared with three EMC viruses isolated from wild rodents from
a different geographic region in the same country. These viruses were also compared with EMC viruses isolated from
pigs in other European countries and three historical strains. All the Italian EMC viruses were closely related
( \94.6% nucleotide identity), but were distinct from viruses occurring in Belgium in 1991 ( B80.5% nucleotide
identity), Greece in 1990 ( B83.3% nucleotide identity) and the three older viruses ( B82.9% nucleotide identity). An
EMC virus isolated from pigs in the Netherlands in 1988, was closely related to the Italian viruses (95.3– 99.3%
nucleotide identity). It is suggested that pigs may play a role in the movement of EMC viruses between different
geographic regions. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords
:
Encephalomyocarditis virus; Acute myocarditis; Molecular epidemiology; Sequencing; Polymerase chain
reaction
1. Introduction
Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV; genus
Cardio6irus, family Picorna6iridae) was first de-
scribed in the early 1940’s as an infection of
laboratory rodents (Jungeblut and Sanders, 1940;
Jungeblut and Dalldorf, 1943), however, it was
later isolated from cases of acute fatal myocarditis
in a chimpanzee in Florida (Helwig and Schmidt,
1945) and encephalomyelitis in a rhesus monkey
in Uganda (Dick et al., 1948). Since then, EMCV
has been isolated from many animals, frequently,
as the cause of fatal myocarditis (for reviews see:
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1483 232441; fax: +44
1483 232448; e-mail: nick.knowles@bbsrc.ac.uk
0168-1702/98/$ - see front matter © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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