Detection of a pneumonia virus of mice (PVM) in an African hedgehog (Atelerix arbiventris) with suspected wobbly hedgehog syndrome (WHS)

•The hedgehog had an encephalitis with vacuolization of the white matter.•The brain samples yielded RNA reads highly homogeneous to PVM strain 15.•PVM antigen was detected in the brain and the lungs immunohistochemically.•A PVM was strongly suggested as a causative agent of encephalitis of a hedgehog.•This is a first report of PVM infection in hedgehogs.

A pneumonia virus of mice (PVM) from an African hedgehog (Atelerix arbiventris) with suspected wobbly hedgehog syndrome (WHS) was detected and genetically characterized. The affected hedgehog had a nonsuppurative encephalitis with vacuolization of the white matter, and the brain samples yielded RNA reads highly homogeneous to PVM strain 15 (96.5% of full genomic sequence homology by analysis of next generation sequencing). PVM antigen was also detected in the brain and the lungs immunohistochemically. A PVM was strongly suggested as a causative agent of encephalitis of a hedgehog with suspected WHS. This is a first report of PVM infection in hedgehogs.