Detection of pseudocowpox virus in water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) with vesicular disease in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2016.

BACKGROUND: Parapoxviruses are zoonotic viruses that infect cattle, goats and sheep; there have also been reports of infections in camels, domestic cats and seals.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this report was to describe a case of vesicular disease caused by pseudocowpox virus (PCPV) in water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in Brazil.

ANIMALS: Sixty buffalo less than 6 months old exhibited ulcers and widespread peeling of the tongue epithelium. There were no cases of vesicular disease in pigs or horses on the same property.

METHODS: Samples were analysed by PCR and sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis in MEGA 7.01 was reconstructed using major envelope protein (B2L) by the Tamura three-parameter nucleotide substitution model and the maximum likelihood and neighbor joining models, both with 1000 bootstrap replicates. The genetic distance between the groups was analysed in MEGA using the maximum composite likelihood model. The rate variation among sites was modeled using gamma distribution.

RESULTS: The presence of PCPV in the buffalo herd could be demonstrated in epithelium and serum. The minimum genetic distance between the isolated PCPV strain (262-2016) and orf virus and bovine papular stomatitis virus was 6.7% and 18.4%, respectively. The maximum genetic distance calculated was 4.6% when compared with a PCPV detected in a camel. Conclusions/Clinical Importance: The peculiar position of the isolated strain in the phylogenetic trees does not necessarily indicate a different kind of PCPV that infects buffalo. More samples from cattle and buffalo in Brazil must be sequenced and compared to verify if PCPV from buffalo are genetically different from samples derived from cattle.