engleski

Severe case of contagious ecthyma in a Balkan Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica)

Contagious Ecthyma is a zoonotic dermatitis caused by the Orf virus of the family Poxviridae. The disease provokes characteristic scabby lesions most frequently found on the mouth and lips, and sometimes but less often on the legs and udder. Morbidity can reach up to 100%, however in the absence of secondary infections lethality is rather low. In this paper we present severe contagious ecthyma in a male Balkan chamois, estimated to be 8 years old. The animal was found dead at the Biokovo Nature Park and transported to the Veterinary Faculty in Zagreb. Dominant gross lesions were scabby formations on the labial and muzzle areas, dental pad, gums, hard palate and tongue. Other organs appeared to be normal. The animal was in poor body condition and advanced autolysis was present. Histological analysis revealed hyperplasia of the epidermis and epithelium of affected areas. The epidermis was mildly eroded and replaced by a thick serocellular crust composed of keratin, proteinaceous fluid, degenerate neutrophils and foreign debris in addition to multifocal parakeratotic hyperkeratosis. Multifocally, epithelial cells contained one or more 2-10 μm intracytoplasmic viral inclusions. The location of the lesions most likely prevented this animal from feeding normally, which led to emaciation and death. To the authors knowledge, this is the first reported case of contagious ecthyma in a Balkan chamois. However, since the majority of infections pass unnoticed due to low mortality and the disease’s self-limiting characteristics, one can assume that the virus was probably present in this area prior to our report. The virus can be spread after animals share pastures with infected domestic sheep, or it can be maintained in the wild due to extreme environmental resistance accompanied by potential circulation among the wild chamois population. As a result, the source of infection for this animal still remains unknown.

Balkan chamois ; Rupicapra rupicapra ; contagious ecthyma ; mortality

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