First Detection and Genetic Characterization of New Equine Parvovirus Species Circulating among Horses in Korea.

Jungho Yoon,Heeeun Song,Dong-Hwi Kim,In-Soo Choi,Hee-Seop Ahn,Sang-Won Lee,Joong-Bok Lee,Taemook Park,Hyeon-Jeong Go,Chang-Seon Song,Ahram Kim,Byung-Joo Park,Seung-Yong Park

doi:10.3390/vetsci8110268

Abstract

Equine parvovirus-cerebrospinal fluid (EqPV-CSF) and eqcopivirus (EqCoPV) are new parvovirus species (EqPVs) identified from various tissues (CSF, blood, and respiratory swabs) in horses with neurologic and respiratory diseases. In this study, we described the prevalence rate of EqPV-CSF and EqCoPV in 133 and 77 serum and fecal samples, respectively, using polymerase chain reaction. Further, we analyzed the potential risk factors for infection. We calculated the nucleotide and amino acid similarity and constructed phylogenetic trees. There was a moderate-to-high prevalence rate (EqPV-CSF: 3.8%; EqCoPV 9.8%) of each virus in serum; moreover, age, country of foaling, and clinical colic signs were significantly associated with the EqPVs infection. The newly identified EqPV-CSF/EqCoPV genomes had high nucleotide and amino acid identities with previously isolated strains in the USA. In phylogenetic analysis, they clustered and formed a new subgroup in the genus Copiparvovirus. To our knowledge, this is the first field epidemiologic study on EqPV-CSF and EqCoPV using both serum and fecal samples. Our findings demonstrate the risk factors for infection and could facilitate the development of disease prevention strategies.

Highlights

Since the first isolation of the equine parvovirus in 1985, three equine parvovirus species (EqPVs), which belong to the genus Copiparvovirus and family Parvoviridae, were identified; namely, equine parvovirus-cerebrospinal fluid (EqPV-CSF, 2015), equine parvovirushepatitis (EqPV-H, 2018), and Eqcopivirus (EqCoPV, 2019) [1,2,3,4]
A Chinese study reported a high prevalence of EqPV-CSF nucleotide (25.3%, 39/152) in sera obtained from imported horses in Western Europe but not local horse breeds [16]
5 (3.8%) and 13 (9.8%) horses were positive for EqPV-CSF and EqCoPV DNA, respectively (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Since the first isolation of the equine parvovirus in 1985, three equine parvovirus species (EqPVs), which belong to the genus Copiparvovirus and family Parvoviridae, were identified; namely, equine parvovirus-cerebrospinal fluid (EqPV-CSF, 2015), equine parvovirushepatitis (EqPV-H, 2018), and Eqcopivirus (EqCoPV, 2019) [1,2,3,4]. EqPV-CSF was first isolated in 2015 from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a horse with neurological signs and lymphocytic pleocytosis in the USA [2]. In 2019, EqCoPV, which is another novel equine parvovirus, was isolated in the USA from horse plasma, CSF, and respiratory swabs from 14 horses [1]. The relationship between EqPVCSF/EqCoPV and clinical disease in horses remains unclear given the limited sample sizes and missing evidence [1,16]

Methods

Results

Conclusion