Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) pathologist Josué Díaz-Delgago, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVP is part of a team that recently published an article over a novel gammaherpevirus in a free-ranging giant armadillo in Brazil. The novel virus, Cingulatid gammaherpesvirus 1 (CiHV-1), was detected in 3 of the 21 armadillos tested. This instance is the first time this virus was detected in Xenarthra.
Read the abstract below and access the full article in the Transboundary and Emerging Diseases journal.
Abstract
The number of viral-associated neoplasms reported in wildlife has increased over the last decades, likely because of growing research efforts and a potentially greater burden of carcinogenic pathogens. Herein, we describe a primary gastric T-cell lymphoma in one free-ranging giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus) from Brazilian Pantanal infected by a novel gammaherpesvirus, proposed as Cingulatid gammaherpesvirus 1 (CiHV-1). By chromogenic in situ hybridisation against Epstein–Barr virus some neoplastic cells were labeled. Subsequently, a molecular screening was carried out to detect the occurrence of this pathogen in other giant armadillos in the same region. Overall, this novel virus was detected in 14.3% (3/21) of the tested giant armadillos. We suggest this herpesvirus, the first in Xenarthra, as a plausible aetiology of the neoplasm. The implications of CiHV-1 for this species are uncertain; while no outbreaks of disease have been recorded, the present study raises concerns. Further research is warranted to assess the real significance of CiHV-1 and its potential oncogenic role in this species.