Attenuated live vaccine (Bartha-K16) caused pseudorabies (Aujeszky's disease) in sheep

Pseudorabies (PR, Aujeszky's disease) is an acute, contagious viral disease that affects a wide range of domestic and wild species. In the present study, an outbreak of PR in sheep induced by attenuated live vaccine (Bartha-K16) was diagnosed and analyzed in China. The presence of PR virus (PRV) in brain samples from infected sheep was confirmed by gC gene polymerase chain reaction amplification and PRV-like particle observation by electron microscopy. The molecular characterization of the PRV was performed with homology analysis and phylogenetic tree construction based on the gC gene. This is the first description of an outbreak of PR induced by a live attenuated vaccine (Bartha-K16), indicating that this vaccine is unsuitable for use in sheep.