1. Identification of neuropathogenic Varicellovirus equidalpha1 as a potential cause of respiratory disease outbreaks among horses in North Xinjiang, China, from 2021-2023.
- Author
-
Tong, Panpan, Yang, Enhui, Liu, Bin, tian, Shuyao, Suo, Youtu, Pan, JuanJuan, Dang, Yueyi, Palidan, Nuerlan, Jia, Chenyang, Kuang, Ling, and Xie, Jinxin
- Subjects
- *
RESPIRATORY diseases , *DISEASE outbreaks , *HORSES , *HORSE diseases , *DNA polymerases , *HORSE breeds , *HEALTH of cattle - Abstract
Background: Varicellovirus equidalpha1 (formerly Equid alphaherpesvirus 1, EqAHV-1) is among the most important viruses responsible for respiratory disease outbreaks among horses throughout the world. No reports to date have detailed the association between EqAHV-1 and respiratory disease among horses in China. This study described one such outbreak among a population of horses in north Xinjiang that occurred from April 2021 - May 2023. Results: qPCR revealed that EqAHV-1 was detectable in all samples and this virus was identified as a possible source of respiratory disease, although a limited subset of these samples were also positive for EqAHV-2, EqAHV-4, and EqAHV-5. In total, three EqAHV-1 strains responsible for causing respiratory illness in horses were isolated successfully, and full-length ORF33 sequence comparisonsand phylogenetic analyses indicated that these isolates may have originated from EqAHV-1 strains detected in Yili horse abortions. ORF30 sequence data additionally suggested that these strains were neuropathic, as evidenced by the presence of a guanine residue at nucleotide position 2254 corresponding to the aspartic acid present at position 752 in the DNA polymerase encoded by this virus. Conclusion: This study is the first report of an outbreak of respiratory disease among horses in China caused by EqAHV-1. ORF30 sequence characterization revealed that these EqAHV-1 strains harbored a neuropathogenic genotype. Given the detection of this virus in horses suffering from respiratory disease, concern is warranted with respect to this neuropathogenic EqAHV-1 outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF