Genotypic characterization of Japanese encephalitis virus circulating in swine population of India: Genotype-III still in dominance

Molecular mechanisms of Japanese encephalitis virus infection and advances in vaccine research

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a central nervous system disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), resulting in high morbidity and mortality, especially in Asia. This review summarizes the current understanding of the JEV infection cycle, including virus attachment and entry, genome replication, viral protein translation, and virus particle assembly and release. The roles of host factors and viral proteins in these processes are discussed. Furthermore, the latest advancements in JE vaccine research are emphasized, including the development of attenuated vaccine SA14-14-2, inactivated mouse brain-derived vaccine, inactivated cell culture vaccine, and chimeric attenuated vaccine. The efficacy and safety of these candidate vaccines and ongoing efforts to enhance their immunogenicity are also reviewed. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of JEV infection and advancements in vaccine research is crucial for the development of effective strategies for JE control and prevention.

Unique humoral immune response of pigs to repeated natural Japanese encephalitis virus infections: an amplifying host perspective

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is the leading cause of viral encephalitis in the Asia-Pacific region. Amplification of JEV in pigs is a potent driver for spillover of the infection to humans, and hence monitoring of virus dynamics in pigs can provide insights into JEV ecology. To study the dynamics of natural JEV infection in a tropical region, two groups of immunologically naïve pigs consisting of six animals per group were kept as sentinels on two different farms in the district of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. In a longitudinal study conducted from May 2022 to October 2023, nested RT-PCR and indirect ELISA were used to track the dynamics of JEV and the humoral response in pigs. Synchronous and asynchronous seroconversion in pigs was recorded on two different farms with different management practices. Repeated infections with JEV were recorded in all of the sentinel animals throughout the study period, irrespective of the season. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of JEV genotype III in the region. It was observed that the IgG response to natural JEV infection did not last long, which might have been the reason for repeated infections in the sentinel animals. The longest period during which IgG was present at detectable levels in this study was two months, after which the pigs could once again amplify the virus. A significant positive correlation was found between wind speed and JEV incidence in sentinel animals. Our results offer a different perspective on the relationship between JEV and its amplifying host that contradicts the assumption that pre-immune pigs are resistant to JEV amplification. Our findings could have a major impact on our understanding of the ecology of JEV in tropical regions, where there is a high burden of JE despite coordinated prevention efforts that have relied on achieving a long-lasting immune response.

Spatio-temporal epidemiology of Japanese encephalitis virus infection in pig populations of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India, 2013-2022

AIMS

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is endemic in India. Although pigs are considered important hosts and sentinels for JE outbreaks in people, limited information is available on JE virus (JEV) surveillance in pigs.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We investigated the spatio-temporal distribution of JEV seroprevalence and its association with climate variables in 4451 samples from pigs in 10 districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India, over 10 years from 2013 to 2022. The mean seroprevalence of IgG (2013-2022) and IgM (2017-2022) was 14% (95% CI 12.8-15.2) and 10.98% (95% CI 9.8-12.2), respectively. Throughout the region, higher seroprevalence from 2013 to 2017 was observed and was highly variable with no predictable spatio-temporal pattern between districts. Seroprevalence of up to 60.8% in Sant Kabir Nagar in 2016 and 69.5% in Gorakhpur district in 2017 for IgG and IgM was observed, respectively. IgG seroprevalence did not increase with age. Monthly time-series decomposition of IgG and IgM seroprevalence demonstrated annual cyclicity (3-4 peaks) with seasonality (higher, broader peaks in the summer and monsoon periods). However, most variance was due to the overall trend and the random components of the time series. Autoregressive time-series modelling of pigs sampled from Gorakhpur was insufficiently predictive for forecasting; however, an inverse association between humidity (but not rainfall or temperature) was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Detection patterns confirm seasonal epidemic periods within year-round endemicity in pigs in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Lack of increasing age-associated seroprevalence indicates that JEV might not be immunizing in pigs which needs further investigation because models that inform public health interventions for JEV could be inaccurate if assuming long-term immunity in pigs. Although pigs are considered sentinels for human outbreaks, sufficient timeliness using sero-surveillance in pigs to inform public health interventions to prevent JEV in people will require more nuanced modelling than seroprevalence and broad climate variables alone.

Japanese Encephalitis Virus Genotype III Strains Detection and Genome Sequencing from Indian Pig and Mosquito Vector

Japanese encephalitis viruses (JEVs) are globally prevalent as deadly pathogens in humans and animals, including pig, horse and cattle. Japanese encephalitis (JE) still remains an important cause of epidemic encephalitis worldwide and exists in a zoonotic transmission cycle. Assam is one of the highly endemic states for JE in India. In the present study, to understand the epidemiological status of JE circulating in pigs and mosquito, particularly in Assam, India, molecular detection of JEV and the genome sequencing of JEV isolates from pigs and mosquitoes was conducted. The genome analysis of two JEV isolates from pigs and mosquitoes revealed 7 and 20 numbers of unique points of polymorphism of nucleotide during alignment of the sequences with other available sequences, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates of the present investigation belong to genotype III and are closely related with the strains of neighboring country China. This study highlights the transboundary nature of the JEV genotype III circulation, which maintained the same genotype through mosquito-swine transmission cycles.