# A Novel Ephemero- and a New CHeRI Orbivirus Isolated from a Dead Farmed White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Florida, USA

## TL;DR

A new rhabdovirus and a new orbivirus were found in a dead deer in Florida, and they may be linked to the animal's death.

## Contribution

Discovery of a novel ephemeral fever rhabdovirus and a new CHeRI orbivirus lineage from a farmed white-tailed deer.

## Key findings

- A novel ephemeral fever rhabdovirus was isolated from a dead deer in Florida.
- A new CHeRI orbivirus lineage was identified with significant genetic differences from known lineages.
- The deer showed severe internal organ congestion and hemorrhaging.

## Abstract

A novel ephemeral fever rhabdovirus and a CHeRI orbivirus of a previously unidentified genetic lineage were isolated in mosquito cell line C6/36 cells as co-infecting agents from the spleen tissue of a dead farmed white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus) in Florida. We designated the ephemeral fever rhabdovirus as Hardee County ephemerovirus 1, strain CHeRI ephemerovirus 1. The genetic sequences of the CHeRI orbivirus isolated in this work differ significantly from those of three previously described CHeRI orbivirus lineages. We designated this new virus as CHeRI orbivirus 4, strain CHeRI orbivirus 4-1. Whereas it remains unknown whether one, both, or none of the viruses contributed to the pathology, gross observations revealed that the dead WTD had severely congested and hemorrhagic lungs, and that its heart, kidneys, and spleen were also congested.