Schmallenberg virus, an emerging viral pathogen of cattle and sheep and a potential contaminant of raw materials, is detectable by classical in-vitro adventitious virus assays

Adventitious agent detection methods in bio-pharmaceutical applications with a focus on viruses, bacteria, and mycoplasma

Adventitious agents present significant complications to biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Adventitious agents include numerous lifeforms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, mycoplasma, and others that are inadvertently introduced into biological systems. They present significant problems to the stability of cell cultures and the sterility of manufacturing products. In this review, detection methods for bacteria, viruses, and mycoplasma are comprehensively addressed. Detection methods for viruses include traditional culture-based methods, electron microscopy studies, in vitro molecular and antibody assays, sequencing methods (massive parallel or next generation sequencing), and degenerate PCR (polymerase chain reaction). Bacteria, on the other hand, can be detected with culture-based approaches, PCR, and biosensor-based methods. Mycoplasma can be detected via PCR (including specific kits), microbiological culture methods, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). This review highlights the advantages and weaknesses of current detection methods while exploring potential avenues for further development and improvement of novel detection methods. Additionally, a brief evaluation of the transition of these methods into the gene therapy production realm with a focus on viral titer monitoring will be presented.

Sequencing of Historical Isolates, K-mer Mining and High Serological Cross-Reactivity with Ross River Virus Argue against the Presence of Getah Virus in Australia

Getah virus (GETV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus primarily associated with disease in horses and pigs in Asia. GETV was also reported to have been isolated from mosquitoes in Australia in 1961; however, retrieval and sequencing of the original isolates (N544 and N554), illustrated that these viruses were virtually identical to the 1955 GETV_MM2021 isolate from Malaysia. K-mer mining of the >40,000 terabases of sequence data in the Sequence Read Archive followed by BLASTn confirmation identified multiple GETV sequences in biosamples from Asia (often as contaminants), but not in biosamples from Australia. In contrast, sequence reads aligning to the Australian Ross River virus (RRV) were readily identified in Australian biosamples. To explore the serological relationship between GETV and other alphaviruses, an adult wild-type mouse model of GETV was established. High levels of cross-reactivity and cross-protection were evident for convalescent sera from mice infected with GETV or RRV, highlighting the difficulties associated with the interpretation of early serosurveys reporting GETV antibodies in Australian cattle and pigs. The evidence that GETV circulates in Australia is thus not compelling.

Epizootiological study on spatiotemporal clusters of Schmallenberg virus and Lumpy skin diseases: The case of Russia

Aim:

The submitted article attempts to highlight and specify the development of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cartographic illustrations, as well as to assess the epizootic situation of these diseases in the world, especially in Russia.

Materials and Methods:

Outbreaks (samples were collected from clinically healthy as well as suspected animals in infected areas) were confirmed and reported to the World Organization for Animal Health by veterinary officials representing countries in different geographical regions in the world. The reports showed that ELISA and polymerase chain reaction were used to identify SBV and LSD, taking into account number of infected, dead, and susceptible animals in infection foci since their first registration including in Russia. Once conventional statistical population (arrange data according to the main goal by regions, infected, and dead animals) was defined, a model was installed. A geo-information system, QuickMAP, was used to clarify the disease distribution map, and through the illustrations, analysis values were obtained.

Results:

Using information clusters of some epizootological criteria in various territories has demonstrated 1.302 focus of infection of SBV, of which 63.22% were registered in Europe and 36.78% in Russia. The seroprevalence in Russia was about 7.92% of the examined animals. According to the morbidity structure, the causative agent mainly affected cattle (64.76%), small ruminants (33.68%), and goats (1.56%). A global assessment of the effectiveness of primary epizootic diagnosis by practicing veterinarians was 63.19%, i.e., of 100 suspicion reports of SBV, 63.19 cases are confirmed by laboratory methods. A detailed assessment of the types of animals affected by the disease showed that it was easily diagnosed in sheep (70.38%), cattle (60.4%), and goats (48.57%), respectively. In the wild animal species, a significant prevalence was recorded as- 54.5%. In 2016, 1.209 foci of LSD were registered in the world, with 20.548 heads of cattle affected, while 8.5% of them identified in Russia (in 2017, the figure was 7.5%). Different maps had been generated in QuickMAP. Cluster analysis of the infected livestock in different regions in Russia showed that, in 2016, the Chechen Republic, Krasnodar, and Volgograd regions were, respectively, severely, moderately, and mildly affected. In 2017, the situation changed and Saratov, Orenburg regions, and Bashkiria were severely affected. However, the number of outbreaks decreased by 84.81% by contribution to the previous year. Eritrea, Namibia, and South Africa were leading in a cluster of most infected areas in 2017.

Conclusion:

Infectious diseases do not know borders. The emergence of SBV and LSD in the territory of the Russian Federation has followed the most common general dynamics of transborder diseases without ignoring details. The epizootic risk from wild animals and favorable climatic conditions is critical to fight against transmission of these diseases in Russia.

Mitigating the risk of Zika virus contamination of raw materials and cell lines in the manufacture of biologicals

Ensuring the virological safety of biologicals is challenging due to the risk of viral contamination of raw materials and cell banks, and exposure during in-process handling to known and/or emerging viral pathogens. Viruses may contaminate raw materials and biologicals intended for human or veterinary use and remain undetected until appropriate testing measures are employed. The outbreak and expansive spread of the mosquito-borne flavivirus Zika virus (ZIKV) poses challenges to screening human- and animal -derived products used in the manufacture of biologicals. Here, we report the results of an in vitro study where detector cell lines were challenged with African and Asian lineages of ZIKV. We demonstrate that this pathogen is robustly detectable by in vitro assay, thereby providing assurance of detection of ZIKV, and in turn underpinning the robustness of in vitro virology assays in safety testing of biologicals.