Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences logoLink to Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
. 1997 Oct 22;264(1387):1457–1461. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1997.0202

The effect of cowpox virus infection on fecundity in bank voles and wood mice.

S M Feore 1, M Bennett 1, J Chantrey 1, T Jones 1, D Baxby 1, M Begon 1
PMCID: PMC1688698  PMID: 9364786

Abstract

Although epidemic infectious diseases are a recognized cause of changes in host population dynamics, there is little direct evidence for the effect of endemic infections on populations. Cowpox virus is an orthopoxvirus which is endemic in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and field voles (Microtus agrestis) in Great Britain. It does not cause obvious signs of disease nor does it affect survival, but in this study we demonstrate experimentally that it can reduce the fecundity of bank voles and wood mice by increasing the time to first litter by 20-30 days. The pathogenic mechanisms causing this effect are at present not known, but this finding suggests that natural subclinical infection could have a considerable effect on the dynamics of wild populations.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (99.9 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Appel M. J., Summers B. A. Pathogenicity of morbilliviruses for terrestrial carnivores. Vet Microbiol. 1995 May;44(2-4):187–191. doi: 10.1016/0378-1135(95)00011-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baxby D., Ashton D. G., Jones D. M., Thomsett L. R. An outbreak of cowpox in captive cheetahs: virological and epidemiological studies. J Hyg (Lond) 1982 Dec;89(3):365–372. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400070935. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Baxby D., Bennett M., Getty B. Human cowpox 1969-93: a review based on 54 cases. Br J Dermatol. 1994 Nov;131(5):598–607. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1994.tb04969.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bennett M., Crouch A. J., Begon M., Duffy B., Feore S., Gaskell R. M., Kelly D. F., McCracken C. M., Vicary L., Baxby D. Cowpox in British voles and mice. J Comp Pathol. 1997 Jan;116(1):35–44. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9975(97)80041-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bennett M., Gaskell R. M., Gaskell C. J., Baxby D., Kelly D. F. Studies on poxvirus infection in cats. Arch Virol. 1989;104(1-2):19–33. doi: 10.1007/BF01313805. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Boulanger D., Crouch A., Brochier B., Bennett M., Clément J., Gaskell R. M., Baxby D., Pastoret P. P. Serological survey for orthopoxvirus infection of wild mammals in areas where a recombinant rabies virus is used to vaccinate foxes. Vet Rec. 1996 Mar 16;138(11):247–249. doi: 10.1136/vr.138.11.247. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Crouch A. C., Baxby D., McCracken C. M., Gaskell R. M., Bennett M. Serological evidence for the reservoir hosts of cowpox virus in British wildlife. Epidemiol Infect. 1995 Aug;115(1):185–191. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800058258. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Flowerdew J. R., Trout R. C., Ross J. Myxomatosis: population dynamics of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus Linnaeus, 1758) and ecological effects in the United Kingdom. Rev Sci Tech. 1992 Dec;11(4):1109–1113. doi: 10.20506/rst.11.4.645. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. GLEDHILL A. W. Latent ectromelia. Nature. 1962 Oct 20;196:298–298. doi: 10.1038/196298a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gaskell R. M., Gaskell C. J., Evans R. J., Dennis P. E., Bennett A. M., Udall N. D., Voyle C., Hill T. J. Natural and experimental pox virus infection in the domestic cat. Vet Rec. 1983 Feb 19;112(8):164–170. doi: 10.1136/vr.112.8.164. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gibbs E. P., Johnson R. H., Collings D. F. Cowpox in a dairy herd in the United Kingdom. Vet Rec. 1973 Jan 20;92(3):56–64. doi: 10.1136/vr.92.3.56. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kaplan C., Healing T. D., Evans N., Healing L., Prior A. Evidence of infection by viruses in small British field rodents. J Hyg (Lond) 1980 Apr;84(2):285–294. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400026784. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. L'vov S. D., Gromashevskii V. L., Marennikova S. S., Bogoiavlenskii G. V., Bailuk F. N. Izoliatsiia poksvirusa (Poxviridae, Orthopoxvirus, kompleks ospy korov) ot polevok-ékonomok Microtus (M.) oeconomus Pal. 17716 v lesotundre Kol'skogo poluostrova. Vopr Virusol. 1988 Jan-Feb;33(1):92–94. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Marennikova S. S., Maltseva N. N., Korneeva V. I., Garanina N. Outbreak of pox disease among carnivora (felidae) and edentata. J Infect Dis. 1977 Mar;135(3):358–366. doi: 10.1093/infdis/135.3.358. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Naidoo J., Baxby D., Bennett M., Gaskell R. M., Gaskell C. J. Characterization of orthopoxviruses isolated from feline infections in Britain. Arch Virol. 1992;125(1-4):261–272. doi: 10.1007/BF01309643. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Osterhaus A. D., de Swart R. L., Vos H. W., Ross P. S., Kenter M. J., Barrett T. Morbillivirus infections of aquatic mammals: newly identified members of the genus. Vet Microbiol. 1995 May;44(2-4):219–227. doi: 10.1016/0378-1135(95)00015-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Roelke-Parker M. E., Munson L., Packer C., Kock R., Cleaveland S., Carpenter M., O'Brien S. J., Pospischil A., Hofmann-Lehmann R., Lutz H. A canine distemper virus epidemic in Serengeti lions (Panthera leo). Nature. 1996 Feb 1;379(6564):441–445. doi: 10.1038/379441a0. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tsanava S. A., Sakvarelidze L. A., Shelukhina E. M. Serologic survey of wild rodents in Georgia for antibodies to orthopoxviruses. Acta Virol. 1989 Jan;33(1):91–91. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Westwood J. C., Boulter E. A., Bowen E. T., Maber H. B. Experimental respiratory infection with poxviruses. I. Clinical virological and epidemiological studies. Br J Exp Pathol. 1966 Oct;47(5):453–465. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Zwart P., Gispen R., Peters J. C. Cowpox in okapis Okapia johnstoni at Rotterdam zoo. Br Vet J. 1971 Jan;127(1):20–24. doi: 10.1016/s0007-1935(17)37783-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences are provided here courtesy of The Royal Society

RESOURCES