Search for polyoma-, herpes-, and bornaviruses in squirrels of the family Sciuridae

Schulze, Vanessa; Lurz, Peter W. W.; Ferrari, Nicola; Romeo, Claudia; Steele, Michael A.; Marino, Shealyn; Mazzamuto, Maria Vittoria; Calvignac-Spencer, Sébastien; Schlottau, Kore; Beer, Martin; Ulrich, Rainer G.; Ehlers, Bernhard

doi:10.1186/s12985-020-01310-4

Virology Journal

Table 2 Geographic origin of identified polyomaviruses in members of the Sciuridae and detailed PCR results

From: Search for polyoma-, herpes-, and bornaviruses in squirrels of the family Sciuridae

Host taxonomic name (subfamily, species)	Host common name	Origin^a	Polyomavirus	Organs tested with PCRs	n tested squirrels	n tested samples	n samples positive in generic nested PCR	n samples positive in virus specific nested PCR	n animals positive in generic or specific nested PCR
Sciurinae
Sciurus carolinensis	Eastern grey squirrel	Penicuik, Scotland	ScarPyV1	lung, spleen	6	11	1	8	6
		Anwoth, Scotland		lung, spleen	3	6	0	0	0
		Kirkbright, Scotland		lung, spleen	4	8	0	0	0
		Dumfries, Scotland	ScarPyV1	spleen	13	13	n. d.^b	9	9
		Borders Region, Scotland	ScarPyV1	spleen	13	13	n. d.	4	4
		Brampton, England	ScarPyV1	spleen	10	10	n. d.	9	9
		Pennsylvania, USA	ScarPyV1	lung	5	5	0	2	2
		Piedmont Region, Italy	ScarPyV1	lung, spleen	30	45	0	1	1
		Lomardy Region, Italy		lung, spleen	4	7	0	0	0
*subtotal*					88	118	1	33	31 (35.2%)
Sciurus vulgaris	Eurasian red squirrel	Scotland (road mortality)		lung, spleen	7	12	0	- ^c	0
		Isle of Arran, Scotland		lung, spleen	12	13	0	–	0
		Neustadt, Germany		lung, spleen	1	2	0	–	0
		Munich, Germany		lung, spleen	16	22	0	–	0
		Waiblingen, Germany		lung, spleen	2	4	0	–	0
		Heidelberg, Germany		spleen	1	1	0	–	0
		Bad König, Germany		lung, spleen	2	4	0	–	0
		Dresden, Germany		lung, spleen	1	2	0	–	0
		Wentorf, Germany		lung, spleen	1	2	0	–	0
		Billigheim, Germany		lung, spleen	1	2	0	–	0
		Rödermark, Germany		lung, spleen	6	12	0	–	0
		Leutenbach, Germany		lung, spleen	1	2	0	–	0
		Bonn, Germany		lung	1	1	0	–	0
		Bad Nauheim, Germany		lung	1	1	0	–	0
		Oberhausen, Germany		lung	1	1	0	–	0
		Berlin, Germany		lung, spleen	4	8	0	–	0
		Stuttgart, Germany		lung, spleen	6	12	0	–	0
		Görlitz, Germany		lung, spleen	6	12	0	–	0
		Sternenfels, Germany		lung, spleen	7	13	0	–	0
*subtotal*					77	126	0		0
Sciurus variegatoides	Variegated squirrel	Germany	SvarPyV1	spleen	7	7	1	–	1 (14.3%)
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus	American red squirrel	Pennsylvania, USA		lung	1	1	0	–	0
*Xerinae*
Urocitellus richardsonii	Richardson’s ground squirrel	Winnipeg, Canada		spleen	11	11	0	–	0
Tamias striatus	Eastern Chipmunk	Pennsylvania, USA		lung, spleen	2	2	0	–	0
*Callosciurinae*
Callosciurus erythraeus	Pallas’s squirrel	Lombardy Region, Italy	CeryPyV1	lung, spleen	35	44	8	18	15 (42.9%)
Callosciurus prevostii	Prevost’s squirrel	Germany	CprePyV1	spleen	17	17	3	4	4 (23.5%)
total					238	326	13	55	51

^aall animals originated from wildlife, except variegated squirrels and Prevost’s squirrels originating from holdings in Germany
^bn. d. not done
^c- = specific nested PCR was not possible because no polyomavirus was detected in generic PCR or specific nested primers could not be designed because LD-PCR was unsuccessful

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ISSN: 1743-422X

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