In September 2018, an epizootic infection caused by canine distemper virus emerged in an Asiatic lion population in India. We detected the virus in samples from 68 lions and 6 leopards by reverse transcription PCR. Whole-genome sequencing analysis demonstrated the virus strain is similar to the proposed India-1/Asia-5 strain.
Keywords: Asiatic lion; Canine distemper virus; Gir National Park; India; RT-PCR; heminested PCR; next-generation sequencing; viruses.