Feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) is one of the main causes of upper respiratory tract infection in cats. Despite its veterinary importance, no previous studies investigated the occurrence of this virus in Egypt. In the present work, a total number of one hundred forty (N = 140) conjunctival and/or oropharyngeal swabs were collected from symptomatic cats during veterinary clinic visits located in two Egyptian provinces. Virus isolation was performed in the Chorioallantoic membranes (CAMs) of 12-days-old SPF eggs. Interestingly, the embryos showed stunting growth and abnormal feathering and infected CAMs showed edematous thickening and cloudiness with characteristic white opaque pock lesions. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the thymidine kinase gene (TK) was successful in 16/140 (11.4%) of the suspected cases. Two of the amplified genes were sequenced and the TK gene sequences of the FHV-1 isolates were highly similar to other reference strains in the GenBank database. Given the above information, the present study represents the first report of feline herpesvirus type 1 (FHV-1) in domestic cats in Egypt. Further studies on the causes of upper respiratory tract infections in cats as well as vaccine efficacy are needed.

Introduction: Canine parvovirus-2 (CPV-2) is one of the most common infectious diseases in dogs characterized by severe gastroenteritis, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. Little information is available about this topic in Egypt, particularly in the Delta region. This study reports the prevalence and molecular analysis of CPV-2 variants collected from El-Gharbia and Kafrelsheikh governorates in the Delta of Egypt.Methods: In this study, 320 rectal swabs were collected from infected domestic dogs from two districts in delta Egypt. The samples were investigated by rapid immunochromatographic test and polymerase chain reaction for detection the prevalence of CPV-2 variants. The genetic characterization was performed using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and partial VP2 gene sequence.Results and discussion: The viral antigen was detected in (264/320, 82.5%) of samples by IC test, while PCR was found more sensitive by detecting (272/320, 85%) positive samples. The RFLP technique using MboII restriction enzyme was successfully used for the differentiation of CPV-2c antigenic variants from CPV-2a/2b strains. Interestingly, the molecular and phylogenetic analysis revealed that both CPV-2a and CPV-2c are circulating in the study area. Deduced amino acid sequence analysis showed changes at residue (N426E) and residue (T440A).: Our results indicated that CPV-2 is prevalent among dogs in Egypt, and therefore further molecular and epidemiological studies of CPV-2 are warranted.

Identification of avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) genotypes is essential for controlling infectious bronchitis (IB) disease, because vaccines that differ from the circulating strains might not provide efficient cross-protection. In Egypt, IBV strain typing is a difficult process, due to the widespread distribution of four genotype lineages (GI-13, GI-23, GI-1, and GI-16), which may contribute to IBV vaccination failure. In this study, we developed a multiplex real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (mRT-qPCR) assay that targets highly conserved areas of the S1 gene in order to detect classical (G1) and Egyptian variant II (G23) strains in allantoic fluids and clinical samples. The viral genotyping technique was assessed using commercially available vaccines as well as local strains, and 16 field isolates were tested to investigate its clinical applicability. The assay was found to be specific for the detection of classical and VAR II strains and did not detect the VAR I strain or other avian pathogens such as Newcastle disease virus, avian influenza virus (H9N2 and H5N8), or infectious bursal disease virus. The results also showed that 28 out of 41 samples tested positive for IBV utilizing rt-qRT-PCR targeting the N gene and that 26 out of the 28 positive samples were genotyped by mRT-qPCR targeting the S1 gene, whereas the remaining two samples that were not genotyped were VAR 1 (4/91) and VAR I (793/B). Interestingly, the testing could identify combined infections in one sample, indicating a mixed infection with both genotypes. The real-time RT-PCR assay could detect viral RNA at concentrations as low as 10² EID₅₀ /ml for both classical and variant II. This assay is rapid, specific, and sensitive. It appears to be a valuable tool for regular disease monitoring that can be used to differentiate as well as identify viruses.