Novel use of a N2-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA)-based identification of avian influenza

Analysis of antibody response to an epitope in the haemagglutinin subunit 2 of avian influenza virus H5N1 for differentiation of infected and vaccinated chickens

The H5N1 subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has been circulating in poultry in Indonesia since 2003 and vaccination has been used as a strategy to eradicate the disease. However, monitoring of vaccinated poultry flocks for H5N1 infection by serological means has been difficult, as vaccine antibodies are not readily distinguishable from those induced by field viruses. Therefore, a test that differentiates infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA) would be essential. Currently, no simple and specific DIVA test is available for screening of a large number of vaccinated chickens. Several epitopes on E29 domain of the haemagglutinin H5N1 subunit 2 (HA2) have recently been examined for their antigenicity and potential as possible markers for DIVA in chicken. In this study, the potential of E29 as an antigen for DIVA was evaluated in detail. Three different forms of full-length E29 peptide, a truncated E29 peptide (E15), and a recombinant E29 were compared for their ability to detect anti-E29 antibodies. Preliminary ELISA experiments using mono-specific chicken and rabbit E29 sera, and a mouse monoclonal antibody revealed that the linear E29 peptide was the most antigenic. Further examination of the E29 antigenicity in ELISA, using several sera from experimentally infected or vaccinated chickens, revealed that the full-length E29 peptide had the greatest discrimination power between infected and vaccinated chicken sera while providing the least non-specific reaction. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the HPAI H5N1 HA2 E29 epitope as a DIVA antigen in HPAI H5N1-vaccinated and -infected chickens.RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS E29 (HA2 positions 488-516) epitope is antigenic in chickens.Antibodies to E29 are elicited following live H5N1 virus infection in chickens.E29 epitope is a potential DIVA antigen for use in ELISA.

Avian Influenza Virus and DIVA Strategies

Vaccination is becoming a more acceptable option in the effort to eradicate avian influenza viruses (AIV) from commercial poultry, especially in countries where AIV is endemic. The main concern surrounding this option has been the inability of the conventional serological tests to differentiate antibodies produced due to vaccination from antibodies produced in response to virus infection. In attempts to address this issue, at least six strategies have been formulated, aiming to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA), namely (i) sentinel birds, (ii) subunit vaccine, (iii) heterologous neuraminidase (NA), (iv) nonstructural 1 (NS1) protein, (v) matrix 2 ectodomain (M2e) protein, and (vi) haemagglutinin subunit 2 (HA2) glycoprotein. This short review briefly discusses the strengths and limitations of these DIVA strategies, together with the feasibility and practicality of the options as a part of the surveillance program directed toward the eventual eradication of AIV from poultry in countries where highly pathogenic avian influenza is endemic.

DIVA vaccination strategies for avian influenza virus

Vaccination for both low pathogenicity avian influenza and highly pathogenic avian influenza is commonly used by countries that have become endemic for avian influenza virus, but stamping-out policies are still common for countries with recently introduced disease. Stamping-out policies of euthanatizing infected and at-risk flocks has been an effective control tool, but it comes at a high social and economic cost. Efforts to identify alternative ways to respond to outbreaks without widespread stamping out has become a goal for organizations like the World Organisation for Animal Health. A major issue with vaccination for avian influenza is trade considerations because countries that vaccinate are often considered to be endemic for the disease and they typically lose their export markets. Primarily as a tool to promote trade, the concept of DIVA (differentiate infected from vaccinated animals) has been considered for avian influenza, but the goal for trade is to differentiate vaccinated and not-infected from vaccinated and infected animals because trading partners are unwilling to accept infected birds. Several different strategies have been investigated for a DIVA strategy, but each has advantages and disadvantages. A review of current knowledge on the research and implementation of the DIVA strategy will be discussed with possible ways to implement this strategy in the field. The increased desire for a workable DIVA strategy may lead to one of these ideas moving from the experimental to the practical.

H9N2 avian influenza virus in Korea: evolution and vaccination

Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H9N2 viruses have been circulating in the Eurasian poultry industry resulting in great economic losses due to declined egg production and moderate to high mortality. In Korea, H9N2 LPAI was first documented in 1996 and it caused serious economic loss in the Korean poultry industry, including layer and broiler breeder farms. Since then, the H9N2 viruses that belong to the Korea group have been prevalent in chickens and have continuously evolved through reassortment in live bird markets. To control LPAI outbreaks, since 2007, the Korean veterinary authority has permitted the use of the inactivated oil adjuvant H9N2 LPAI vaccine. Although only oil-based inactivated vaccine using the egg-passaged vaccine virus strain (A/chicken/Korea/01310/2001) is permitted and used, several new technology vaccines have been recently suggested for the development of cost-effective and highly immunogenic vaccines. In addition, several different differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) strategies have been suggested using appropriate vaccines and companion serologic tests for discriminating between naturally infected and vaccinated animals. Recent reports demonstrated that the Korean LPAI H9N2 virus underwent antigenic drift and evolved into distinct antigenic groups and thus could escape from vaccine protection. Therefore, improved vaccination strategies including periodic updates of vaccine seed strains are required to achieve efficient control and eradication of LPAI H9N2 in Korea. Further, vaccination should be part of an overall integrated strategy to control the disease, including continued nation-wide surveillance, farm biosecurity, and DIVA strategy.

Development of DIVA (differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals) vaccines utilizing heterologous NA and NS1 protein strategies for the control of triple reassortant H3N2 influenza in turkeys

Since 2003, triple reassortant (TR) swine H3N2 influenza viruses containing gene segments from human, avian, and swine origins have been detected in the U.S. turkey populations. The initial outbreak that occurred involved birds that were vaccinated with the currently available H3 swine- and avian-origin influenza vaccines. Antigenically, all turkey swine-lineage TR H3N2 isolates are closely related to each other but show little or no antigenic cross-reactivity with the avian origin or swine origin influenza vaccine strains that are currently being used in turkey operations. These results call for re-evaluation of currently available influenza vaccines being used in turkey flocks and development of more effective DIVA (differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals) vaccines. In this study, we selected one TR H3N2 strain, A/turkey/OH/313053/04 (H3N2) that showed broad cross reactivity with other recent TR turkey H3N2 isolates, and created NA- and NS-based DIVA vaccines using traditional reassortment as well as reverse genetics methods. Protective efficacy of those vaccines was determined in 2-week-old and 80-week-old breeder turkeys. The reassortant DIVA vaccines significantly reduced the presence of challenge virus in the oviduct of breeder turkeys as well as trachea and cloaca shedding of both young and old breeder turkeys, suggesting that proper vaccination could effectively prevent egg production drop and potential viral contamination of eggs in infected turkeys. Our results demonstrate that the heterologous NA and NS1 DIVA vaccines together with their corresponding serological tests could be useful for the control of TR H3N2 influenza in turkeys.

H9N2 avian influenza virus-like particle vaccine provides protective immunity and a strategy for the differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals

In the present study, virus-like particles (VLPs) were evaluated as a candidate poultry vaccine against avian influenza virus (AIV) subtype H9N2. Specific pathogen-free chickens received a single injection of the VLP vaccine expressing HA and M1 protein of AIV H9N2 (H9 HA VLP) at escalating doses in the presence or absence of ISA70 water-in-oil adjuvant. At 3 weeks post vaccination, we performed hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine serological immune responses, and challenge studies using SPF chickens. A single dose of H9 HA VLP vaccine induced high levels of HI antibodies and lowered frequencies of virus isolation after the wild-type virus challenge. The addition of ISA70 adjuvant significantly increased the immunogenicity of H9 HA VLP vaccines. Furthermore, it allows differentiation of AIV-infected chickens from vaccinated chickens with an ELISA using nucleocapsid antigen, which offers a promising strategy to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). These results provide support for continued development of the VLP as an animal vaccine against influenza virus.

Field application of the H9M2e enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for differentiation of H9N2 avian influenza virus-infected chickens from vaccinated chickens

Vaccination for control of H9N2 low-pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) in chickens began in 2007 in South Korea where the H9N2 virus is prevalent. Recently, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the extracellular domain of the M2 protein (M2e ELISA) was developed as another strategy to differentiate between vaccinated and infected chickens. Here, an ELISA using the extracellular domain of the M2 protein of H9N2 LPAI virus (H9M2e ELISA) was applied to differentiate infected from vaccinated chickens using the H9N2 LPAI virus M2 peptide. The specificity and sensitivity of the optimized H9M2e ELISA were 96.1% and 83.8% (the absorbance of the sample to the absorbance for the positive control [S/P ratio] ≥ 0.6), respectively, with the cutoff value (S/P ratio = 0.6), and the criterion of avian influenza (AI) infection in a chicken house was established as >20% reactivity of anti-M2e antibody per house with this cutoff value. After infection in naïve chickens and once-vaccinated chickens with a hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay titer of 9.25 ± 0.75 log(2) units, the sera from infected chickens were confirmed as AI infected when the chickens were 1 week old in both groups, and AI infection lasted for 24 weeks and 9 weeks in naïve and once-vaccinated chickens, respectively, although in twice-vaccinated chickens with a higher HI titer of 11.17 ± 0.37 log(2) units, anti-M2e antibody in infected sera did not reach a level indicating AI infection. In field application, anti-M2e antibody produced in infected chickens after vaccination or in reinfected chickens could be identified as AI infection, although HI test could not distinguish infected from vaccinated sera. These results indicate the utility of H9M2e ELISA as a surveillance tool in control of H9N2 LPAI infections.

Development and evaluation of an avian influenza, neuraminidase subtype 1, indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for poultry using the differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals control strategy

An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed using baculovirus, purified, recombinant N1 protein from A/chicken/Indonesia/PA7/2003 (H5N1) virus. The N1-ELISA showed high selectivity for detection of N1 antibodies, with no cross-reactivity with other neuraminidase subtypes, and broad reactivity with sera to N1 subtype isolates from North American and Eurasian lineages. Sensitivity of the N1-ELISA to detect N1 antibodies in turkey sera, collected 3 wk after H1N1 vaccination, was comparable to detection of avian influenza antibodies by the commercial, indirect ELISAs ProFLOK AIV Plus ELISA Kit (Synbiotics, Kansas City, MO) and Avian Influenza Virus Antibody Test Kit (IDEXX, Westbrook, ME). However, 6 wk after vaccination, the Synbiotics ELISA kit performed better than the N1-ELISA and the IDEXX ELISA kit. An evaluation was made of the ability of the N1-ELISA to discriminate vaccinated chickens from subsequently challenged chickens. Two experiments were conducted, chickens were vaccinated with inactivated H5N2 and H5N9 viruses and challenged with highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, and chickens were vaccinated with recombinant poxvirus vaccine encoding H7 and challenged with highly pathogenic H7N1 virus. Serum samples were collected at 14 days postchallenge and tested by hemagglutination inhibition (HI), quantitative neuraminidase inhibition (NI), and N1-ELISA. At 2 days postchallenge, oropharyngeal swabs were collected for virus isolation (VI) to confirm infection. The N1-ELISA was in fair agreement with VI and HI results. Although the N1-ELISA showed a lower sensitivity than the NI assay, it was demonstrated that detection of N1 antibodies by ELISA was an effective and rapid assay to identify exposure to the challenge virus in vaccinated chickens. Therefore, N1-ELISA can facilitate a vaccination strategy with differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals using a neuraminidase heterologous approach.

Strategies for differentiating infection in vaccinated animals (DIVA) for foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever and avian influenza

The prophylactic use of vaccines against exotic viral infections in production animals is undertaken exclusively in regions where the disease concerned is endemic. In such areas, the infection pressure is very high and so, to assure optimal protection, the most efficient vaccines are used. However, in areas considered to be free from these diseases and in which there is the possibility of only limited outbreaks, the use of Differentiation of Infected from Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) or marker vaccines allows for vaccination while still retaining the possibility of serological surveillance for the presence of infection. This literature review describes the current knowledge on the use of DIVA diagnostic strategies for three important transboundary animal diseases: foot-and-mouth disease in cloven-hoofed animals, classical swine fever in pigs and avian influenza in poultry.

A Closer Look at the NS1 of Influenza Virus

The Non-Structural 1 (NS1) protein is a multifactorial protein of type A influenza viruses that plays an important role in the virulence of the virus. A large amount of what we know about this protein has been obtained from studies using human influenza isolates and, consequently, the human NS1 protein. The current global interest in avian influenza, however, has highlighted a number of sequence and functional differences between the human and avian NS1. This review discusses these differences in addition to describing potential uses of NS1 in the management and control of avian influenza outbreaks.