Identification and Genetic Characterization of Viral Pathogens in Ruminant Gestation Abnormalities, Israel, 2015–2019

Natalia Golender,Marisol Guini-Rubinstein,Kerstin Wernike,Dan David,Avi Eldar,Martin Beer,Anita Kovtunenko,Velizar Bumbarov,Asaf Sol

doi:10.3390/v13112136

Abstract

Infectious agents including viruses are important abortifacients and can cause fetal abnormalities in livestock animals. Here, samples that had been collected in Israel from aborted or malformed ruminant fetuses between 2015 and 2019 were investigated for the presence of the following viruses: the reoviruses bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), the flaviviruses bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and border disease virus (BDV), the peribunyaviruses Shuni virus (SHUV) and Akabane virus (AKAV), bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) and bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV). Domestic (cattle, sheep, goat) and wild/zoo ruminants were included in the study. The presence of viral nucleic acid or antigen could be confirmed in 21.8 % of abnormal pregnancies (213 out of 976 investigated cases), with peribunyaviruses, reoviruses and pestiviruses being the most prevalent. At least four different BTV serotypes were involved in abnormal courses of pregnancy in Israel. The subtyping of pestiviruses revealed the presence of two BDV and several distinct BVDV type 1 strains. The peribunyaviruses AKAV and SHUV were identified annually throughout the study period, however, variation in the extent of virus circulation could be observed between the years. In 2018, AKAV even represented the most detected pathogen in cases of small domestic ruminant gestation abnormalities. In conclusion, it was shown that various viruses are involved in abnormal courses of pregnancy in ruminants in Israel.

Highlights

Embryogenic deaths, abortions and stillbirth in domestic ruminants induce huge economical losses in the farming industry worldwide
The genus Orbivirus includes the arthropod-transmitted bluetongue (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses (EHDV), which are both of veterinary importance, infect cloven-hoofed ungulates and may induce severe and even fatal diseases in susceptible ruminants
Clinical signs caused by bluetongue virus (BTV) and EHDV range from subclinical disease to fever, lameness, coronitis, edema, hemorrhage and ulcers in the oral cavity and upper gastrointestinal tract and necrosis of the skeletal and cardiac muscle [13,14]

Summary

Introduction

Embryogenic deaths, abortions and stillbirth in domestic ruminants induce huge economical losses in the farming industry worldwide. Viruses of multiple families, such as e.g., Herpesviridae, Flaviviridae, Peribunyaviridae or Reoviridae, play a major role in inducing abortion and pregnancy abnormalities [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Within the latter family, the genus Orbivirus includes the arthropod-transmitted bluetongue (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses (EHDV), which are both of veterinary importance, infect cloven-hoofed ungulates and may induce severe and even fatal diseases in susceptible ruminants. Some strains of BTV may cross the placental barrier and induce abortion or lesions in the central nervous system of the developing fetus [13,15]

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Results