Herpesvirus-Associated Neurological Disease in a Donkey

A 4-year-old donkey was evaluated for progressive neurological abnormalities consisting of depression, stupor, weakness, and recumbency. Diagnostic evaluation for viral involvement identified an asinine herpesvirus in DNA extracted from deep pharyngeal swabs. Specific primers were designed based on comparison with equine herpesviral DNA polymerase sequences and yielded an 875-base pair product from the donkey. This sequence had complete identity with short sequences of asinine herpesvirus previously identified in donkeys with interstitial pneumonia. Amino acid analysis of the entire sequence indicated high similarity with Equid herpesvirus 7 (91%), Zebra herpesvirus 1 (90%), and Equid herpesvirus 2 (89%). With supportive treatment and physical therapy, the donkey gradually recovered over 5 days of hospitalization and returned to normal function. The current case illustrates the potential of a novel asinine herpesvirus to induce neurological disease in donkeys and provides a large viral sequence allowing confident assignment of this virus to the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae.