Epidemiology, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of Aleutian disease caused by Aleutian mink disease virus: A literature review with a perspective of genomic breeding for disease control in American mink (Neogale vison)

Aleutian disease (AD) is a multi-systemic infectious disease in American mink (Neogale vison) caused by the Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV). Commonly referred to as mink plasmacytosis, AD is an economically significant disease in mink-breeding countries. Aleutian disease mainly induces weight loss, lower fertility, and dropped pelt quality in adults and can result in acute interstitial pneumonia with high mortality rates in kits. In this review, we employed the scientific literature on AD over the last 70 years to discuss the historical and contemporary status of AD outbreaks and seroprevalence in mink farming countries. We also explained different forms of AD and the differences between the pathogenicity of the virus in kits and adults. The application of the available AD serological tests in AD control strategies was argued. We explained how selection programs could help AD control and proposed different approaches to selecting animals for building AD-tolerant herds. The advantages of genomic selection for AD tolerance over traditional breeding strategies were discussed in detail. We also explained how genomic selection could help AD control by selecting tolerant animals for the next generation based on genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) data and the challenges of implementing genomic selection for AD tolerance in the mink industry. This review collected the information required for designing successful breeding programs for AD tolerance. Examples of the application of information are presented, and data gaps are highlighted. We showed that AD tolerance is necessary to be among the traits that animals are selected for in the mink industry.