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Ben Hassine T, García-Carrasco JM, Sghaier S, Thabet S, Lorusso A, Savini G, Hammami S. Epidemiological Analyses of the First Incursion of the Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Serotype 8 in Tunisia, 2021-2022. Viruses 2024; 16:362. [PMID: 38543728 PMCID: PMC10974811 DOI: 10.3390/v16030362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2024] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is a non-contagious arthropod-transmitted viral disease and a World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH)-listed disease of domestic and wild ruminants since 2008. EHDV is transmitted among susceptible animals by a few species of midges of genus Culicoides. During the fall of 2021, a large outbreak caused by the epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), identified as serotype 8, was reported in Tunisian dairy and beef farms with Bluetongue virus (BTV)-like clinical signs. The disease was detected later in the south of Italy, in Spain, in Portugal and, more recently, in France, where it caused severe infections in cattle. This was the first evidence of EHDV-8 circulation outside Australia since 1982. In this study, we analyzed the epidemiological situation of the 2021-2022 EHDV outbreaks reported in Tunisia, providing a detailed description of the spatiotemporal evolution of the disease. We attempted to identify the eco-climatic factors associated with infected areas using generalized linear models (GLMs). Our results demonstrated that environmental factors mostly associated with the presence of C. imicola, such as digital elevation model (DEM), slope, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and night-time land surface temperature (NLST)) were by far the most explanatory variables for EHD repartition cases in Tunisia that may have consequences in neighboring countries, both in Africa and Europe through the spread of infected vectors. The risk maps elaborated could be useful for disease control and prevention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thameur Ben Hassine
- General Directorate of Veterinary Services, Regional Commissary for Agricultural Development of Nabeul, Nabeul 8000, Tunisia
| | - José-María García-Carrasco
- Biogeography, Diversity and Conservation Lab, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaga, E-29071 Malaga, Spain or
| | - Soufien Sghaier
- Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Subregional Office for North Africa, les Berges du Lac 1, Tunis 1053, Tunisia;
| | - Sarah Thabet
- Institut de la RechercheVétérinaire de Tunisie, Tunis 1006, Tunisia;
| | - Alessio Lorusso
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, Italy; (A.L.); (G.S.)
| | - Giovanni Savini
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, Italy; (A.L.); (G.S.)
| | - Salah Hammami
- École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet (ENMV), Service de Microbiologie, Immunologie et Pathologie Générale, Université de la Manouba, Tunis 2020, Tunisia;
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Rodrigues TCS, Viadanna PHO, Subramaniam K, Hawkins IK, Jeon AB, Loeb JC, Krauer JMC, Lednicky JA, Wisely SM, Waltzek TB. Characterization of a Novel Reassortant Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Serotype 6 Strain Isolated from Diseased White-Tailed Deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) on a Florida Farm. Viruses 2022; 14:1012. [PMID: 35632753 PMCID: PMC9146129 DOI: 10.3390/v14051012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
We report an outbreak of a novel reassortant epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 6 (EHDV-6) in white-tailed deer (WTD) on a Florida farm in 2019. At necropsy, most animals exhibited hemorrhagic lesions in the lung and heart, and congestion in the lung, liver, and spleen. Histopathology revealed multi-organ hemorrhage and congestion, and renal tubular necrosis. Tissues were screened by RT-qPCR and all animals tested positive for EHDV. Tissues were processed for virus isolation and next-generation sequencing was performed on cDNA libraries generated from the RNA extracts of cultures displaying cytopathic effects. Six isolates yielded nearly identical complete genome sequences of a novel U.S. EHDV-6 strain. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses revealed the novel strain to be most closely related to a reassortant EHDV-6 strain isolated from cattle in Trinidad and both strains received segment 4 from an Australian EHDV-2 strain. The novel U.S. EHDV-6 strain is unique in that it acquired segment 8 from an Australian EHDV-8 strain. An RNAscope® in situ hybridization assay was developed against the novel U.S. EHDV-6 strain and labeling was detected within lesions of the heart, kidney, liver, and lung. These data support the novel U.S. reassortant EHDV-6 strain as the cause of disease in the farmed WTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thaís C. S. Rodrigues
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (T.C.S.R.); (P.H.O.V.); (K.S.)
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (J.C.L.); (J.A.L.); (S.M.W.)
| | - Pedro H. O. Viadanna
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (T.C.S.R.); (P.H.O.V.); (K.S.)
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (J.C.L.); (J.A.L.); (S.M.W.)
| | - Kuttichantran Subramaniam
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (T.C.S.R.); (P.H.O.V.); (K.S.)
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (J.C.L.); (J.A.L.); (S.M.W.)
| | - Ian K. Hawkins
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (I.K.H.); (A.B.J.)
| | - Albert B. Jeon
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (I.K.H.); (A.B.J.)
| | - Julia C. Loeb
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (J.C.L.); (J.A.L.); (S.M.W.)
- Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Juan M. C. Krauer
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - John A. Lednicky
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (J.C.L.); (J.A.L.); (S.M.W.)
- Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Samantha M. Wisely
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (J.C.L.); (J.A.L.); (S.M.W.)
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Thomas B. Waltzek
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (T.C.S.R.); (P.H.O.V.); (K.S.)
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; (J.C.L.); (J.A.L.); (S.M.W.)
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Tomaszewski E, Jennings M, Munk B, Botta R, Lewison R. Landscape Seroprevalence of Three Hemorrhagic Disease-Causing Viruses in a Wild Cervid. ECOHEALTH 2021; 18:182-193. [PMID: 34515899 DOI: 10.1007/s10393-021-01546-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Revised: 05/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Disease plays a major role in shaping wildlife populations worldwide, and changes in landscape conditions can significantly influence risk of pathogen exposure, a threat to vulnerable wild species. Three viruses that cause hemorrhagic disease affect cervid populations in the USA (Odocoileus hemionus adenovirus, bluetongue virus, and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus), but little is known of their distribution and prevalence in wild populations. We explored the distribution and co-occurrence of seroprevalence of these three pathogens in southern mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus), a subspecies of conservation concern and a harvested species native to southern California, to evaluate the distribution of exposure to these pathogens relative to landscape attributes. We found that habitat type, level of development, and proximity to livestock may affect hemorrhagic disease seroprevalence in southern mule deer. Continued monitoring of hemorrhagic disease-causing viruses in areas where deer are in proximity to cattle and human development is needed to better understand the implications of future outbreaks in wild populations and to identify opportunities to mitigate disease impacts in southern mule deer and other cervid species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Tomaszewski
- San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA, 92182, USA.
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1416 9th St., 12th Floor, Sacramento, CA, 95814, USA.
| | - Megan Jennings
- San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
| | - Brandon Munk
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1416 9th St., 12th Floor, Sacramento, CA, 95814, USA
| | - Randy Botta
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1416 9th St., 12th Floor, Sacramento, CA, 95814, USA
| | - Rebecca Lewison
- San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
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A Duplex Fluorescent Microsphere Immunoassay for Detection of Bluetongue and Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Antibodies in Cattle Sera. Viruses 2021; 13:v13040682. [PMID: 33921013 PMCID: PMC8071417 DOI: 10.3390/v13040682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 04/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue virus (BTV) causes internationally reportable hemorrhagic disease in cattle, sheep, and white-tailed deer. The closely related, and often co-circulating, epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus causes a clinically similar devastating disease in white-tailed deer, with increasing levels of disease in cattle in the past 10 years. Transmitted by Culicoides biting midges, together, they constitute constant disease threats to the livelihood of livestock owners. In cattle, serious economic impacts result from decreased animal production, but most significantly from trade regulations. For effective disease surveillance and accurate trade regulation implementation, rapid, sensitive assays that can detect exposure of cattle to BTV and/or EHDV are needed. We describe the development and validation of a duplex fluorescent microsphere immunoassay (FMIA) to simultaneously detect and differentiate antibodies to BTV and EHDV in a single bovine serum sample. Performance of the duplex FMIA for detection and differentiation of BTV and EHDV serogroup antibodies was comparable, with higher sensitivity than commercially available single-plex competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (cELISA) for detection of each virus antibody separately. The FMIA adds to the currently available diagnostic tools for hemorrhagic orbiviral diseases in cattle as a sensitive, specific assay, with the benefits of serogroup differentiation in a single serum sample, and multiplexing flexibility in a high-throughput platform.
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