The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiological situation of the caprine herpesvirus 1 (CpHV-1) infection in nine districts in mainland France, mostly in the south, near Italy or Spain, where high seroprevalence has been observed. Two more central areas were also included in the study. The serosurvey was carried out in 9564 goats (275 herds) using bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) glycoprotein B and E ELISAs. To confirm the presence of specific CpHV-1 antibodies, some of the samples were tested in neutralization assay. Results demonstrate, for the first time, CpHV-1 infection in goat herds on the French mainland. The analysis found cases of alphaherpesviruses infection in each district studied, with different levels of seroprevalence observed within each district (ranging from 0.2% to 31.56% at an individual level and from 9% to 46.2% for herd seroprevalence). Moreover, in the Alpes-Maritimes district, the seroprevalence seemed to be higher in older goats (79.45% of animals 6 years old or more) than in younger animals (40.99% of one-year-olds). This result suggests frequent virus re-excretion and circulation in herds. Results analysis also shows that the seroprevalence was higher when the herd size increased. In addition, the first French CpHV-1 strain was isolated from nasal swabs taken on an infected goat. The data reported herein demonstrate that CpHV-1 circulates in mainland France, which should henceforth be taken into consideration in cases of unexplained abortion in goats.
Keywords: CpHV-1; France mainland; Herpes; caprine; epidemiology; goat.