High Occurrence Among Calves and Close Phylogenetic Relationships With Human Viruses Warrants Close Surveillance of Rotaviruses in Kuwaiti Dairy Farms.

Mohammad A Alotaibi,Ali Chenari Bouket,S Al-Amad,Faizah N Alenezi,H Al-Aqeel,E Haider,A Bin Hijji,Lassaad Belbahri

doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.745934

Abstract

Rotavirus, one of the main pathogens causing morbidity and mortality in neonatal dairy calves worldwide, is responsible for 30–44% of cattle deaths. It is considered to be the most common etiologic agent of diarrhea in neonatal dairy calves and children, the dominant type being group A. Two hundred seventy animals from 27 farms from 2 regions of Kuwait were tested for the presence of Rotavirus serogroup A (RVA) using latex agglutination test (LAT) and reverse transcription–polymerase chain (RT-PCR) testing. RVA non-structural proteins NSP1-2, NSP4-5 and capsid protein genes VP1-7 were characterized by next generation sequencing. LAT was positive in 15.56% of the animals, and RT-PCR in 28.89%. Using RT-PCR as a reference method, LAT was 100% specific but only 83.33% sensitive. ANOVA analysis showed correlation only with the location of the farms but no significant correlation with the age and sex of the animals. Although there was a tendency of clustering of RVA positive animals, it did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.035 for LAT). The phylogenetic analysis showed that Kuwaiti isolates of group A rotavirus clustered with human rotaviruses. Taken together, it seems that rotavirus was present in most of the dairy farms in Kuwait. The high occurrence of the virus in calves in Kuwaiti dairy farms and the close phylogenetic affinity with human isolates warrants urgent action to minimize and control its spread between calves in farms.

Highlights

Neonatal and young calve’s diarrhea (NCD) is a common syndrome and major health issue in the livestock industry, worldwide, resulting in both short- and long-term economic consequences that stem from increased morbidity and mortality
The present study aims to assess the current occurrence of rotavirus A infection in Kuwaiti cattle livestock, using the routine diagnostic tools that are used in real life situations, as well as novel generation sequencing (NSG)
Out of the 270 animals 42 were positive for latex agglutination test (LAT) (15.56%), almost double were positive for RT-PCR (28.89%)

Summary

Introduction

Neonatal and young calve’s diarrhea (NCD) is a common syndrome and major health issue in the livestock industry, worldwide, resulting in both short- and long-term economic consequences that stem from increased morbidity and mortality. Given that in many countries this industry is a major economic resource, the constant monitoring of livestock health is of paramount importance. The main etiological agent for bovine diarrhea is rotavirus A (RVA), a species of a double stranded RNA virus family, the Reoviridae, that acts and transmits through the gastrointestinal route. The virus moves back and forth from the human caregivers to the animals and vice versa, creating a constant open pool of new infections [3]. The transmission within the same farm imposes the immediate and timely sequestration of the infected animals, before creating viral outbreaks that affect the whole herd. There is evidence of interspecies transmission, such as from goat to cattle [4]

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