Co-infection of Dirofilaria immitis and Japanese encephalitis virus in a spotted seal (Phoca largha) in the Republic of Korea
- Author:
Ji Youl JUNG
1
;
Hyun Jeong KIM
;
Kyunghyun LEE
;
Jun Gu CHOI
;
Yeon Hee KIM
;
Kyoung Ki LEE
;
Young dae KIM
;
ByungJae SO
;
Hae Eun KANG
;
Eun Jin CHOI
Author Information
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords: Dirofilaria immitis; Japanese encephalitis virus; spotted seal
- MeSH: Appetite; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Brain; Child; Coinfection; Dirofilaria immitis; Dirofilaria; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese; Encephalitis, Japanese; Genotype; Heart; Heart Ventricles; Horses; Humans; Male; Meningoencephalitis; Republic of Korea
- From:Journal of Veterinary Science 2019;20(6):e65-
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: A 10-year-old male spotted seal presented with loss of appetite and decreased activity. Grossly, the internal organs revealed several filarial nematodes in the right ventricle of the heart and the pulmonary vessels. Histopathological examination of the brain revealed moderate nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis with glial nodules and neuronophagia. Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) of genotype I was isolated from the brain. All nematodes were identified as Dirofilaria immitis. This is the first clinical case of co-infection with D. immitis and JEV in a seal, suggesting that the seal, may be a dead-end host, like the human and horse, for JEV.
