In November 2013, a fatal encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) case in a captive African elephant (Loxodonta africana) occurred at the Réserve Africaine de Sigean, a zoo in the south of France. Here we report the molecular characterization of the EMCV strains isolated from samples collected from the dead elephant and from 3 rats (Rattus rattus) captured in the zoo at the same time. The EMCV infection was confirmed by reverse-transcription real-time PCR (RT-rtPCR) and genome sequencing. Complete genome sequencing and sequence alignment indicated that the elephant’s EMCV strain was 98.1–99.9% identical to the rat EMCV isolates at the nucleotide sequence level. Phylogenetic analysis of the ORF, P1, VP1, and 3D sequences revealed that the elephant and rat strains clustered into lineage A of the EMCV 1 group. To our knowledge, molecular characterization of EMCV in France and Europe has not been reported previously in a captive elephant. The full genome analyses of EMCV isolated from an elephant and rats in the same outbreak emphasizes the role of rodents in EMCV introduction and circulation in zoos.

2013年11月，法国南部的非洲锡让动物园（Réserve Africaine de Sigean）发生了一头圈养非洲象（ Loxodonta africana ）致命的脑心肌炎病毒（EMCV）病例。在这里，我们报告了从死去的大象和同时在动物园捕获的 3 只老鼠 ( Rattusrattus ) 收集的样本中分离出的 EMCV 毒株的分子特征。通过逆转录实时 PCR (RT-rtPCR) 和基因组测序证实了 EMCV 感染。完整的基因组测序和序列比对表明，大象的 EMCV 毒株与大鼠 EMCV 分离株在核苷酸序列水平上具有 98.1-99.9% 的一致性。 ORF、P1、VP1 和 3D 序列的系统发育分析表明，大象和大鼠品系聚类为 EMCV 1 组的谱系 A。据我们所知，法国和欧洲此前尚未在圈养大象中报道过 EMCV 的分子特征。对同一次疫情中从大象和大鼠中分离出的 EMCV 进行的全基因组分析强调了啮齿类动物在 EMCV 引入和动物园传播中的作用。