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Lazić S, Savić S, Petrović T, Lazić G, Žekić M, Drobnjak D, Lupulović D. Serological Examinations of Significant Viral Infections in Domestic Donkeys at the Special Nature Reserve "Zasavica", Serbia. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2056. [PMID: 37443854 DOI: 10.3390/ani13132056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The paper presents the findings of specific antibodies in the blood sera of donkeys against the following viruses: equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), African horse sickness virus (AHSV), equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1), equine influenza virus subtype H3N8 (EIV) and equine arteritis virus (EAV). The analyses were conducted during the year 2022. From a total of 199 donkeys bred in "Zasavica", blood was sampled from 53 animals (2 male donkeys and 51 female donkeys), aged 3 to 10 years. Specific antibodies against EIAV were not detected in any of the tested animals using the agar-gel immunodiffusion (AGID) assay. No specific antibodies against AHSV, tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), or antibodies against EAV, tested by the virus neutralization test (VNT) and ELISA were detected in any of these animals. A positive serological result for EHV-1 was determined by the VNT in all animals, with antibody titer values ranging from 1:2 to 1:128, while a very low antibody titer value for EIV (subtype H3N8) of 1:16 was determined in 18 donkeys using the hemagglutination inhibition test (HI test).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sava Lazić
- Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Sara Savić
- Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Tamaš Petrović
- Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Gospava Lazić
- Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Marina Žekić
- Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Darko Drobnjak
- Center for Preservation of Indigenous Breeds-CEPIB, Vere Dimitrijević, 11186 Zemun, Serbia
| | - Diana Lupulović
- Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Rumenački put 20, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
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Hanekom J, Lubisi BA, Leisewitz A, Guthrie A, Fosgate GT. The seroprevalence of African horse sickness virus, and risk factors to exposure, in domestic dogs in Tshwane, South Africa. Prev Vet Med 2023; 213:105868. [PMID: 36739812 DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.105868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Dogs are the only non-equid species to develop the fatal form of African horse sickness (AHS). Research conducted in 2013 questioned the long-held belief that naturally occurring cases of AHS in dogs were contracted exclusively through the ingestion of contaminated horse meat. Culicoides midges, the vector of AHS virus (AHSV) for horses, have an aversion to dog blood meals and dogs were believed to be dead-end or incidental hosts. More recently, dog mortalities have occurred in the absence of horse meat consumption and vector transmission has been suspected. The current study is a retrospective serological survey of AHSV exposure in dogs from an endemic area. Dog sera collected from dogs (n = 366) living in the city of Tshwane, Gauteng Province, South Africa, were randomly selected from a biobank at a veterinary teaching hospital, corresponding to the years 2014-2019. The study used a laboratory in-house indirect recombinant VP7 antigen-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) with a test cut-off calculated from AHSV exposure-free dog sera (n = 32). Study AHSV seroprevalence was 6 % (22/366) with an estimated true prevalence of 4.1 % (95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.3-8.1 %). Incidence was estimated for dogs with multiple serological results with seroconversion occurring at a rate of 2.3 seroconversions per 10 dog years at risk (95 % CI = 0.6-6.2). A subsection of the study sera was tested with AHSV viral neutralisation test (VN) (n = 42) for serotype determination. Antibodies to AHSV serotype 6 were most prevalent (90 %) in VN seropositive dogs (n = 20) with most dogs seemingly subclinically infected (>95 %). Seroprevalence descriptively varied by year and identified risk factors were annual rainfall > 754 mm (odds ratio (OR) = 5.76; 95 % CI = 2.22 - 14.95; p < 0.001), medium human population densities, 783-1663 people/km2 (OR = 7.14; 95 % CI = 1.39 - 36.73; p = 0.019) and 1664-2029 people/km2 (OR = 6.74; 95 % CI = 1.40 - 32.56; p = 0.018), and the month of March (OR = 5.12; 95 % CI = 1.41 - 18.61; p = 0.013). All identified risk factors were consistent with midge-borne transmission to dogs. The relatively high seroprevalence and seroconversion rates suggest frequent exposure of dogs to AHSV and indicates the need to investigate the role dogs might play in the overall epidemiology and transmission of AHSV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josef Hanekom
- Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
| | - Baratang A Lubisi
- Virology Section, Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, South Africa.
| | - Andrew Leisewitz
- Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa; Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, USA.
| | - Alan Guthrie
- Equine Research Centre, Faculty of Veterinary Science University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
| | - Geoffrey T Fosgate
- Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
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Guggemos HD, Fendt M, Hermanns K, Hieke C, Heyde V, Mfune JKE, Borgemeister C, Junglen S. Orbiviruses in biting midges and mosquitoes from the Zambezi region, Namibia. J Gen Virol 2021; 102. [PMID: 34554079 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The genus Orbivirus includes a variety of pathogenic viruses that are transmitted by biting midges, mosquitoes and ticks. Some of the economically most relevant orbiviruses are endemic to Namibia, like the livestock-pathogenic Bluetongue and African horse sickness viruses. Here, we assessed the diversity of orbiviruses circulating in the Zambezi region of north-eastern Namibia. A total of 10 250 biting midges and 10 206 mosquitoes were collected and screened for orbivirus infections. We identified Palyam virus (PALV) in a pool of biting midges (Culicoides sp.) sampled in the Wuparo Conservancy and three strains of Corriparta virus (CORV) in Culex sp. mosquitoes sampled in Mudumu National Park and the Mashi Conservancy. This is, to our knowledge, the first detection of PALV and CORV in Namibia. Both viruses infect vertebrates but only PALV has been reported to cause disease. PALV can cause foetal malformations and abortions in ruminants. Furthermore, a novel orbivirus, related to Kammavanpettai virus from India and Umatilla virus from North America, was discovered in biting midges (Culicoides sp.) originating from Mudumu National Park and tentatively named Mudumu virus (MUMUV). Complete genomes of PALV, CORV and MUMUV were sequenced and genetically characterized. The Namibian CORV strain showed 24.3 % nucleotide divergence in its subcore shell gene to CORV strains from Australia, indicating that African CORV variants vary widely from their Australian relatives. CORV was isolated in cell culture and replicated to high titres in mosquito and duck cells. No growth was found in rodent and primate cells. The data presented here show that diverse orbiviruses are endemic to the Zambezi region. Further studies are needed to assess their effects on wildlife and livestock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heiko D Guggemos
- Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Free University Berlin, Humboldt-University Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Berlin, Germany
| | - Matthias Fendt
- Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Free University Berlin, Humboldt-University Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Berlin, Germany
| | - Kyra Hermanns
- Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Free University Berlin, Humboldt-University Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Germany
| | - Christian Hieke
- Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Free University Berlin, Humboldt-University Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Germany
| | - Verena Heyde
- Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Free University Berlin, Humboldt-University Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Germany
| | - John K E Mfune
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
| | | | - Sandra Junglen
- Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Free University Berlin, Humboldt-University Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Berlin, Germany
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Molini U, Franzo G, Nel H, Khaiseb S, Ntahonshikira C, Chiwome B, Baines I, Madzingira O, Monaco F, Savini G, D'Alterio N. West Nile Virus Seroprevalence in a Selected Donkey Population of Namibia. Front Vet Sci 2021; 8:681354. [PMID: 34222404 PMCID: PMC8249584 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.681354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus enzootically maintained in birds. However, it can incidentally infect other species, leading to sometimes severe clinical consequences like in horses and especially human beings. Despite the topic relevance, the presence and distribution of WNV are currently unknown in Namibia. Several countries implement surveillance systems based on virus detection in birds, mosquitoes, and vertebrate species including horses. The present study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by serologically evaluating WNV exposure in Namibian donkeys, whose population is remarkably bigger than the horse one. Forty-seven out of 260 sampled animals showed neutralizing antibodies against WNV (18.07% [95% CI = 13.59–23.30%]), demonstrating its circulation in all country territory, although, with apparent regional differences. On the contrary, no association with animal age or sex could be identified. The present study demonstrates the widespread presence of WNV in Namibia as well as the practical utility and effectiveness of donkeys as sentinels for infection surveillance. Due to clinical relevance, vaccination campaigns should be considered for horses of high economic or genetic value. Additionally, the burden of WNV infection on human health should be carefully evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umberto Molini
- Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Neudamm Campus, Windhoek, Namibia.,Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL), Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Giovanni Franzo
- Department of Animal Medicine, Production, and Health, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Hannah Nel
- Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Neudamm Campus, Windhoek, Namibia
| | | | - Charles Ntahonshikira
- Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Neudamm Campus, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Bernard Chiwome
- Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Neudamm Campus, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Ian Baines
- Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Neudamm Campus, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Oscar Madzingira
- Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Neudamm Campus, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Federica Monaco
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy
| | - Giovanni Savini
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy
| | - Nicola D'Alterio
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy
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