Contribution à l’étude de la forme africaine du coryza gangreneux induite par l’herpèsvirus alcélaphin 1

Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is an usually lethal pathology which has been described in a large number of ruminant species. Based on the etiology, two main forms of MCF have been described, i.e., the European and the African forms due to ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) and alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1), respectively. The present study was devoted to the African form of MCF (AF-MCF) and to its causative agent AlHV-1. AlHV-1 belongs to the Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily of the Herpesviridae family. Wildebeests (Connochaetes spp) carry AlHV-1, which is lethal for a large number of ruminant species, while apparently harmless to its natural host. Here, we first reproduced AF-MCF using the rabbit as animal model. Macroscopic and microscopic lesions induced by AlHV-1 infection were characteristic of AF-MCF described in cattle. Next, we undertook the cloning of AlHV-1 genome as an bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). The molecular tools required were produced. They should allow the production of a AlHV-1-BAC shortly. The rabbit animal model together with the BAC technology will allow further studies to address AF-MCF pathogenesis.