standard-operating-procedure-for-lyssavirus-surveillance-bat

Standard Operating Procedure for Lyssavirus Surveillance of the Bat Population in Taiwan

Viruses within the genus Lyssavirus are zoonotic pathogens, and at least seven lyssavirus species are associated with human cases. Because bats are ...

Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Three foot-and-mouth disease virus non-structural protein antibody detection kits, CHEKIT FMD-3ABC, UBI FMD NS EIA and DVIVR NSP ELISA, were compared in the study. The results showed that the specificity of the kits ranged from 96.7 to 100% in nai;ve pigs and from 93.6 to 98.1% in vaccinated pigs, and that the DVIVR kit had the highest analytical sensitivity. The kappa statistics for the detection of 612 sera were 0.582, 0.447 and 0.658 for CHEKIT/UBI, CHEKIT/DVIVR and UBI/DVIVR, respectively. This study also revealed that measurable non-structural protein specific antibodies in some of infected pigs were sustained either for shorter periods or in intermittent patterns, thus aggravating the difficulties associated with the removal of pre-exposed pigs in the field.

Comparison of ELISA for the detection of porcine serum antibodies to non-structural proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

For the purpose of removing infected animals by detecting humoral immune responses to non-structural proteins of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus, antibodies induced by contaminated residual non-structural proteins contained in less pure FMD vaccine can be problematic for serological screening. The aim of the present study was to measure the possible presence of antibodies against these non-structural proteins in repeatedly vaccinated calves and beef cattle. Five imported FMD vaccines were examined using two commercial ELISA kits, UBI FMDV NS EIA and Ceditest FMDV-NS, for serological testing. After five doses of vaccination, the serum of one calf tested positive, and two vaccines induced a significant increase in anti-3ABC antibodies in calves. This finding demonstrated that a positive reaction to non-structural proteins due to impurities in the FMD vaccine was detectable using commercial tests. A low percentage of field sera sampled from beef cattle in Kinmen also tested positive, but the key factor resulting in the positive reactions could not be positively identified based on our data.

Presence of antibodies to non-structural proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus in repeatedly vaccinated cattle.

A total of 284 non-human primate sera were collected between December 2004 and September 2005 and tested by a commercially available dot immunobinding assay for the antibodies to cercopithecine herpesvirus 1, an alphaherpesvirus with high mortality for infected humans.

Prevalence of antibody reaction with cercopithecine herpesvirus 1 antigen in Macaca cyclopis, Macaca fascicularis, and Papio anubis in Taiwan.

Bluetongue virus is the etiological agent of bluetongue, one of the most important insect-transmitted animal diseases in the world. To establish a feasible diagnostic procedure for detecting the viral RNA, seven commercially available one-step RT-PCR kits in combination with three primer sets were evaluated. Results of this study showed remarkable differences in analytical sensitivity between the examined RT-PCR kits. In addition, it was found that a World Organization for Animal Health-recommended primer set may not be effective in detecting most BTV RNA. 

Comparison of primer sets and one-step reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction kits for the detection of bluetongue viral RNA.

Bovine ephemeral fever is an arthropod-borne bovine viral disease caused by infection with bovine ephemeral fever virus which belongs to genus Ephemerovirus within the family Rhabdoviridae. In this study, serological data and virological information about the disease and the virus, spanning from 2001 to 2013, were employed to analyze the relationships of bovine ephemeral fever epizootics to population immunity and virus variation. National and regional surveillance data indicated that 2 of the 3 major epizootics and 87% regional outbreaks were associated with lower neutralizing antibody titers and immunity coverage, reflecting the importance of population immunity for the control of bovine ephemeral fever. Phylogenetic analysis and sequence comparison demonstrated that Taiwanese bovine ephemeral fever viruses were >96.0% and >97.6% similar to the East Asian isolates in nucleotide and amino acid sequences, respectively. These analyses supported that the Taiwanese viruses shared the same gene pool with the strains of the other East Asian countries, mainly Japan. 

Relationships of bovine ephemeral fever epizootics to population immunity and virus variation.

Bovine ephemeral fever virus is a member of the family Rhabdoviridae and bovine ephemeral fever has frequently affected cattle population in Taiwan since 1967. During the outbreaks in 2013 and 2014, exotic bovine ephemeral fever viruses were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and nucleotide sequencing. Sequence comparison showed that the exotic viruses shared 99.0-99.4% nucleotide identities (99.4-100.0% amino acid identities) with Chinese viruses and, on the contrary, 96.2-97.2% nucleotide identities (97.8-98.6% amino acid identities) with indigenous Taiwanese viruses. Additionally, our phylogenetic analysis also supported that the newly invaded bovine ephemeral fever viruses were closely related to the Chinese strains. These exotic 2013-2014 viruses have become prevalent and displaced indigenous virus strains since their appearance. 

Invasion of exotic bovine ephemeral fever virus into Taiwan in 2013-2014.

A severe epidemic, affecting mainly goose populations, broke out in early January 2015. The causative agents were identified as novel H5 avian influenza viruses carrying N2, N3, and N8 subtypes of the neuraminidase gene. From January 8 to February 11, 766 waterfowl and poultry farms were invaded by the H5 viruses, and more than 2.2 million geese died or were culled. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that these avian influenza viruses derived from the H5 viruses of clade 2.3.4.4 which were emerging in 2014 in East Asia, West Europe, and North America. 

Fan Lee

Animal Health Research Institute

Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Standard Operating Procedure for Lyssavirus Surveillance of the Bat Population in Taiwan

Fan Lee

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Animal Health Research Institute

Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Standard Operating Procedure for Lyssavirus Surveillance of the Bat Population in Taiwan

Animal Health Research Institute