Variant Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Research Articles

Loop PDE of viral capsid protein is involved in immune escape of the emerging novel variant infectious bursal disease virus

Infectious bursa disease (IBD) is an acute, highly contactable, lethal, immunosuppressive infectious disease caused by the Infectious bursa disease virus (IBDV). Currently, the emerged novel variant IBDV (nVarIBDV) and the sustainedly prevalent very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) are the two most prevalent strains of IBDV in China. The antigenic properties of the two prevalent strains differed significantly, which led to the escape of nVarIBDV from the immune protection provided by the existing vvIBDV vaccine. However, the molecular basis of the nVarIBDV immune escape remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated, for the first time, that residues 252, 254, and 256 in the PDE of VP2 are involved in the immune escape of the emerging nVarIBDV. Firstly, the IFA-mediated antigen-antibody affinity assay showed that PBC and PDE of VP2 could affect the affinity of vvIBDV antiserum to VP2, of which PDE was more significant. The key amino acids of PDE influencing the antigen-antibody affinity were also identified, with G254N being the most significant, followed by V252I and I256V. Then the mutated virus with point or combined mutations was rescued by reverse genetics. it was further demonstrated that mutations of V252I, G254N, and I256V in PDE could individually or collaboratively reduce antigen–antibody affinity and interfere with antiserum neutralization, with G254N being the most significant. This study revealed the reasons for the widespread prevalence of nVarIBDV in immunized chicken flocks and provided innovative ideas for designing novel vaccines that match the antigen of the epidemic strain.

Efficacy and Safety of an Inactivated Novel Variant Infectious Bursal Disease Virus in Broiler Chickens

The infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is severe and highly contagious, causing high mortality and immunosuppression in chickens worldwide. A new novel variant, IBDV (nVarIBDV), has recently emerged in Asian countries, including Malaysia, highlighting the need to develop a new vaccine against this strain due to the inadequacy of existing commercial vaccines in protecting chickens from nVarIBDV infection. Therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of inactivated nVarIBDV as a potential vaccine candidate in broiler chickens. A total of 65 one-day-old Arbo Acres broiler chickens were randomly divided into three groups (five animals in each group with four replications) before the challenge, namely A, B, and C. Groups A and B were immunized subcutaneously at day old with inactivated nVarIBDV (107 EID50/0.2 ml), and Group B was boosted at day 14. Group C was an unimmunized control. The experimental animals were divided into three subgroups and were challenged with pathogenic nVarIBDV (105 EID50/1.0ml) on day 28 post-inoculation through ocular and oral routes. The challenge sub-groups were named ACH, BCH, and CCH, respectively. The live body weight, bursa weight, and blood samples of the chickens were recorded. Gross lesions were examined, and samples of the bursa of Fabricius were collected from all the groups for histological evaluation. All the chickens appeared healthy and normal throughout the trial. Body weight increased in all groups without significant differences. The bursa weight and the bursa-to-body weight ratio of the booster group (Group B) were significantly higher than the non-booster and control groups. Gross lesions were not observed in the investigated groups. The challenged control group had higher bursa lesion scoring than the vaccinated groups. The IBDV antibody titer of challenged chickens in ACH, BCH, and CCH groups was higher than those of unchallenged groups A, B, and C at 35 days post-inoculation. The IBDV antibody titer of challenged chickens in group B was higher than challenged chickens in groups A and C (ACH and CCH). In conclusion, the inactivated nVarIBDV demonstrated safety and efficacy, with the booster Group (B) showing elevated humoral immune responses compared to the non-booster group. Keywords: Antibody, Chicken, Efficacy, Inactivated vaccine, Novel variant infectious bursal disease virus

Novel variant infectious bursal disease virus diminishes FAdV-4 vaccination and enhances pathogenicity of FAdV-4

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) caused an acute and highly contagious infectious disease characterized by severe immunosuppression, causing considerable economic losses to the poultry industry globally. Although this disease was well-controlled under the widely use of commercial vaccines in the past decades, the novel variant IBDV strains emerged recently because of the highly immunized-selection pressure in the field, posting new threats to poultry industry. Here, we reported novel variant IBDV is responsible for a disease outbreak, and assessed the epidemic and pathogenicity of IBDV in this study. Moreover, we constructed a challenge model using Fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) to study on the immunosuppressive effect. Our findings underscore the importance of IBDV surveillance, and provide evidence for understanding the pathogenicity of IBDV.

Development of a Highly Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Herpesvirus of Turkey-Based Vaccine against Novel Variant Infectious Bursal Disease Virus.

Infectious bursal disease (IBD), caused by IBD virus (IBDV), is an extremely contagious immunosuppressive disease that causes major losses for the poultry industry worldwide. Recently, the novel variant IBDV (G2d) has been highly prevalent in Korea, but the current vaccines against this very virulent IBDV have limited efficacy against this novel variant. To develop a vaccine against this variant IBDV, a recombinant virus designated rHVT-VP2 was constructed by inserting the IBDV (G2d) VP2 gene into herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT) using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. The PCR and sequencing results obtained showed that the recombinant virus rHVT-VP2 was successfully constructed. Vaccination with rHVT-VP2 generated IBDV-specific antibodies in specific pathogen-free chickens starting from 2 weeks post-immunization. Seven days after the challenge, the autopsy results showed that the bursa atrophy rates of the rHVT-VP2, HVT, vaccine A, and positive control groups were 0%, 100%, 60%, and 100%, respectively, and the BBIX values were 1.07 ± 0.22, 0.27 ± 0.05, 0.64 ± 0.33, and 0.32 ± 0.06, respectively. These results indicate that rHVT-VP2 can provide 100% protection against a challenge with the IBDV (G2d), whereas vaccine A only provides partial protection. In conclusion, vaccination with the recombinant virus rHVT-VP2 can provide chickens with effective protection against variant IBDV (G2d).

Exploring the predictive power of jejunal microbiome composition in clinical and subclinical necrotic enteritis caused by Clostridium perfringens: insights from a broiler chicken model

BackgroundNecrotic enteritis (NE) is a severe intestinal infection that affects both humans and poultry. It is caused by the bacterium Clostridium perfringens (CP), but the precise mechanisms underlying the disease pathogenesis remain elusive. This study aims to develop an NE broiler chicken model, explore the impact of the microbiome on NE pathogenesis, and study the virulence of CP isolates with different toxin gene combinations.MethodsThis study established an animal disease model for NE in broiler chickens. The methodology encompassed inducing abrupt protein changes and immunosuppression in the first experiment, and in the second, challenging chickens with CP isolates containing various toxin genes. NE was evaluated through gross and histopathological scoring of the jejunum. Subsequently, jejunal contents were collected from these birds for microbiome analysis via 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, followed by sequence analysis to investigate microbial diversity and abundance, employing different bioinformatic approaches.ResultsOur findings reveal that CP infection, combined with an abrupt increase in dietary protein concentration and/or infection with the immunosuppressive variant infectious bursal disease virus (vIBDV), predisposed birds to NE development. We observed a significant decrease (p < 0.0001) in the abundance of Lactobacillus and Romboutsia genera in the jejunum, accompanied by a notable increase (p < 0.0001) in Clostridium and Escherichia. Jejunal microbial dysbiosis and severe NE lesions were particularly evident in birds infected with CP isolates containing cpa, netB, tpeL, and cpb2 toxin genes, compared to CP isolates with other toxin gene combinations. Notably, birds that did not develop clinical or subclinical NE following CP infection exhibited a significantly higher (p < 0.0001) level of Romboutsia. These findings shed light on the complex interplay between CP infection, the gut microbiome, and NE pathogenesis in broiler chickens.ConclusionOur study establishes that dysbiosis within the jejunal microbiome serves as a reliable biomarker for detecting subclinical and clinical NE in broiler chicken models. Additionally, we identify the potential of the genera Romboutsia and Lactobacillus as promising candidates for probiotic development, offering effective alternatives to antibiotics in NE prevention and control.

Isolation and genomic characteristics of the novel variant infectious bursal disease virus in China.

The infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is a member of the viruses that can induce immunosuppression in chickens. In recent years, more and more IBDV-infected cases by the novel variant IBDV were reported in China, and it has been demonstrated that currently used vaccines could not provide complete protection against these new IBDV variants. However, a lack of comprehensive analysis of the genomic characteristics of the novel variant strain IBDV has hampered its vaccine development. In this study, a strain of IBDV, designated HB202201, was phylogenetically analyzed, and it was found that the hypervariable region (HVR) of VP2 belonged to the novel variant strain. Furthermore, the 5'- and 3'-ends of segments A and B were analyzed using the rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE) method. After the full-length of segment A and segment B were determined, the phylogenetic analysis of the segment A and segment B showed that the isolated HB202201 belonged to A2dB1 genotype, which demonstrated the HB202201 belonged to the novel variant strain. In addition, the specific mutations in VP1-VP5 amino acids were analyzed, which showed that there were multiple typical mutations in novel variant IBDV proteins, including VP1 (G24, I141, V163, and E240), VP2 (K221, and I252), VP3 (Q167 and L196), and VP5 (R7, P44, R92, G104, and E147), whereas there was no typical mutation in VP4. This study provides insights into the genomic and antigenic characteristics of the novel variant IBDV, which will promote the development of novel vaccine against the novel variant IBDV.

First Detection and Molecular Characterization of Novel Variant Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (Genotype A2dB1b) in Egypt.

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an immunosuppressive disease causing significant damage to the poultry industry worldwide. Its etiological agent is infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), a highly resistant RNA virus whose genetic variability considerably affects disease manifestation, diagnosis and control, primarily pursued by vaccination. In Egypt, very virulent strains (genotype A3B2), responsible for typical IBD signs and lesions and high mortality, have historically prevailed. The present molecular survey, however, suggests that a major epidemiological shift might be occurring in the country. Out of twenty-four samples collected in twelve governorates in 2022-2023, seven tested positive for IBDV. Two of them were A3B2 strains related to other very virulent Egyptian isolates, whereas the remaining five were novel variant IBDVs (A2dB1b), reported for the first time outside of Eastern and Southern Asia. This emerging genotype spawned a large-scale epidemic in China during the 2010s, characterized by subclinical IBD with severe bursal atrophy and immunosuppression. Its spread to Egypt is even more alarming considering that, contrary to circulating IBDVs, the protection conferred by available commercial vaccines appears suboptimal. These findings are therefore crucial for guiding monitoring and control efforts and helping to track the spread of novel variant IBDVs, possibly limiting their impact.

A Single Mutation of VP2 is Responsible for the Lethality and Antigenicity Differences between Novel Variant and Very Virulent IBDV Strains

Infectious bursal disease is an acute, immunosuppressive infectious disease in chickens caused by the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), which causes huge economic losses to the global poultry industry. Persistently circulating very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) and newly emerging novel variant IBDV (nVarIBDV) are the two dominant epidemic strains of IBDV in East Asian countries such as China. Compared to lethal vvIBDV, nonlethal nVarIBDV has more insidious pathogenicity and can partially escape the immune protection of the existing vvIBDV vaccine, suggesting its potential adaptive survival strategy. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unknown. The viral capsid protein VP2 is closely related to cell tropism, virulence, and antigenic variation of IBDV. In this study, for the first time, we demonstrated that residue 279 of VP2 is responsible for the difference in pathogenicity between nVarIBDV and vvIBDV and that the D279N substitution reduces the lethality of vvIBDV from 70% to 0%. Moreover, a significant reduction in the viral load and inflammatory factor levels in the immune organs and blood of infected chickens may be important mechanisms for reducing the lethality of IBDV. Additionally, residue 279 was an important molecular basis for the antigenic differences between nVarIBDV and vvIBDV. D279N substitution reduced the neutralizing ability of vvIBDV antiserum against nVarIBDV by affecting the binding ability of antibodies and antigens. Our results indicate that nVarIBDV has an infection transmission strategy that facilitates its survival by hiding viral pathogenicity and escaping antiserum neutralization, which not only has significant implications for the systemic cognition of viral genetic evolution and pathogenesis but also provides new ideas for the comprehensive prevention and control of IBDV.

The attenuated live vaccine strain W2512 provides protection against novel variant infectious bursal disease virus.

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) causes an acute and highly contagious infectious disease characterized by severe immunosuppression, causing great economic losses to the poultry industry globally. Over the past 30 years, this disease has been well controlled through vaccination and strict biosafety measures. However, novel variant IBDV strains have emerged in recent years, posing a new threat to the poultry industry. Our previous epidemiological survey showed that few novel variant IBDV strains had been isolated from chickens immunized with the attenuated live vaccine W2512-, suggesting that this vaccine is efficacious against novel variant strains. Here, we report the protective effect of the W2512 vaccine against novel variant strains in SPF chickens and commercial yellow-feathered broilers. We found that W2512 causes severe atrophy of the bursa of Fabricius in SPF chickens and commercial yellow-feathered broilers, induces high levels of antibodies against IBDV, and protects chickens from infection with the novel variant strains via a placeholder effect. This study highlights the protective effect of commercial attenuated live vaccines against the novel IBDV variant and provides guidance for the prevention and control of this disease.

Comparative Pathogenicity of Three Strains of Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Closely Related to Poultry Industry.

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an acute, highly contagious, immunosuppressive, and fatal infectious disease of young chickens caused by infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Since 2017, a new trend has been discovered in the IBDV epidemic, with very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) and novel variant IBDV (nVarIBDV) becoming the two current dominant strains in East Asia including China. In this study, we compared the biological characteristics of the vvIBDV (HLJ0504 strain), nVarIBDV (SHG19 strain), and attenuated IBDV (attIBDV, Gt strain) using specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chicken infection model. The results showed that vvIBDV distributed in multiple tissues, replicated the fastest in lymphoid organs such as bursa of Fabricius, induced significant viremia and virus excretion, and is the most pathogenic virus with a mortality of more than 80%. The nVarIBDV had a weaker replication capability and did not kill the chickens but caused severe damage to the central immune organ bursa of Fabricius and B lymphocytes and induced significant viremia and virus excretion. The attIBDV strain was found not to be pathogenic. Further studies preliminarily suggested that the expression level of inflammatory factors triggered by HLJ0504 was the highest, followed by the SHG19 group. This study is the first to systematically compare the pathogenic characteristics of three IBDVs closely related to poultry industry from the perspectives of clinical signs, micro-pathology, virus replication, and distribution. It is of great importance to obtain an extensive knowledge of epidemiology, pathogenicity, and comprehensive prevention, and control of various IBDV strains.

Genetic Insight into the Interaction of IBDV with Host-A Clue to the Development of Novel IBDV Vaccines.

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is an immunosuppressive pathogen causing enormous economic losses to the poultry industry across the globe. As a double-stranded RNA virus, IBDV undergoes genetic mutation or recombination in replication during circulation among flocks, leading to the generation and spread of variant or recombinant strains. In particular, the recent emergence of variant IBDV causes severe immunosuppression in chickens, affecting the efficacy of other vaccines. It seems that the genetic mutation of IBDV during the battle against host response is an effective strategy to help itself to survive. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the viral genome diversity will definitely help to develop effective measures for prevention and control of infectious bursal disease (IBD). In recent years, considerable progress has been made in understanding the relation of genetic mutation and genomic recombination of IBDV to its pathogenesis using the reverse genetic technique. Therefore, this review focuses on our current genetic insight into the IBDV's genetic typing and viral genomic variation.

Characterization and pathogenicity of a novel variant infectious bursal disease virus in China.

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is a highly epidemic and immunosuppressive disease of 3- to 6-week-old chicks caused by infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Since 2017, there has been a notable increase in the isolation rates of novel variant IBDV strains in China, of which characteristic amino acid residues were different from those of early antigen variants. In this study, one IBDV strain was isolated from a farm with suspected IBD outbreak in Shandong Province, China, which was designated LY21/2. The strain LY21/2 could replicate in MC38 cells with previous culture adaption in SPF chick embryos. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that LY21/2 formed one branch with novel variant IBDVs and shared 96.8-98.6% nucleotide sequence identity with them. Moreover, LY21/2 serving as the major parent underwent the recombination event of a variant strain (19D69), while the minor parent was a very virulent strain (Harbin-1). SPF chicks inoculated with LY21/2 showed no gross clinic symptom, whereas bursal atrophy was exhibited and apoptosis was occurred in 55.21% of bursal cells. The results of histopathology and immunohistochemical staining showed that lymphocyte depletion and connective tissue hyperplasia and IBDV antigen-positive cells were observed in the bursa of LY21/2-infected chicks. Besides, DNA fragmentation was detected in the LY21/2-infected bursal tissue section by TUNEL assay. Collectivtely, these data presented analysis and evaluation of the genetic characteristics and pathogenicity of a novel variant IBDV strain. This study may help in the development of biosafety strategies for the prevention and control of IBDV in poultry.

Evaluation of five circulating strains of variant infectious bursal disease virus (varIBDV) for their immunogenicity as broiler breeder vaccines and protective efficacy in neonatal broiler chicks

The majority of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) strains circulating in the broiler chicken industry in Canada are variant strains (varIBDV). Despite high levels of maternally derived antibodies (MtAb), the circulating varIBDVs can establish infection and cause severe immunosuppression in broiler chicks. The objective of this study was to evaluate circulating varIBDVs as broiler breeder vaccine candidates and investigate their protective efficacy against varIBDV challenge in their progeny chicks. Six groups of breeders (20 females/group) were vaccinated with varIBDV strains, SK09, SK10, SK11, SK12, and SK13 or saline at the age of 13 weeks and antibody response was determined by ELISA at 3–7-, and 20- weeks post-vaccination. We also included commercial chicks for the comparison. Results showed that SK-09 is the most antigenic strain, followed by SK-10, SK-12, and SK-13. In contrast, SK-11 showed the lowest antibody response, and over time, antibody titers steadily decreased. Eggs from breeders were collected at 21-week post-vaccination and incubated to produce their respective progenies. The serum antibody titer in day-old chicks showed a successful MtAb transfer. Progeny chicks (n = 40/group) were orally challenged with varIBDV-SK-09 strain at 6 days of age and serum antibody titer (19 d and 35 d of age), bursa to body weight ratio (19 d and 35 d of age), bursal viral load (9 d and 19 d of age) was examined to assess the protection against IBDV. Following the challenge, we found a significant increase in the antibody titers in MtAb-free and commercial vaccine groups than in the varIBDV groups, both at 19 d and 35 d of age. The BBW ratio and viral load data indicated a significant homologous and heterologous protection against varIBDV-SK-09 challenge by SK-09 and SK-10 MtAbs, respectively. Overall, this study demonstrated the feasibility of developing breeder vaccines using circulating varIBDV as candidate vaccine antigens.

Residues 318 and 323 in capsid protein are involved in immune circumvention of the atypical epizootic infection of infectious bursal disease virus.

Recently, atypical infectious bursal disease (IBD) caused by a novel variant infectious bursal disease virus (varIBDV) suddenly appeared in immunized chicken flocks in East Asia and led to serious economic losses. The epizootic varIBDV can partly circumvent the immune protection of the existing vaccines against the persistently circulating very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV), but its mechanism is still unknown. This study proved that the neutralizing titer of vvIBDV antiserum to the epizootic varIBDV reduced by 7.0 log2, and the neutralizing titer of the epizootic varIBDV antiserum to vvIBDV reduced by 3.2 log2. In addition, one monoclonal antibody (MAb) 2-5C-6F had good neutralizing activity against vvIBDV but could not well recognize the epizootic varIBDV. The epitope of the MAb 2-5C-6F was identified, and two mutations of G318D and D323Q of capsid protein VP2 occurred in the epizootic varIBDV compared to vvIBDV. Subsequently, the indirect immunofluorescence assay based on serial mutants of VP2 protein verified that residue mutations 318 and 323 influenced the recognition of the epizootic varIBDV and vvIBDV by the MAb 2-5C-6F, which was further confirmed by the serial rescued mutated virus. The following cross-neutralizing assay directed by MAb showed residue mutations 318 and 323 also affected the neutralization of the virus. Further data also showed that the mutations of residues 318 and 323 of VP2 significantly affected the neutralization of the IBDV by antiserum, which might be deeply involved in the immune circumvention of the epizootic varIBDV in the vaccinated flock. This study is significant for the comprehensive prevention and control of the emerging varIBDV.

Characterization and pathogenicity of infectious bursal disease virus in Southern China

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is a widespread pathogen that induces immunosuppression in 3 to 6-wk-old chickens, casuing great threaten to the poultry industry worldwide. Previously, the very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) was mainly prevalent in China. In recent years, the novel variant IBDV (nvIBDV) occurred in China. In this study, we isolated 30 IBDV strains of IBDV from vaccinated chicken flocks in 8 provinces of southern China. Among these isolates, vvIBDV group (13/30) and nvIBDV group (17/30) were identified according to the genome sequencing and phylogenic analysis. Moreover, HB2021-5 and GD2021-17 have pathologic characteristics with severe bursal lesions, as evidenced by necrosis, depletion of lymphocytes, and follicle atrophy. Our findings provide an important reference for understanding the epidemiological status and the evolution of IBDV.

A Single Vaccination of IBDV Subviral Particles Generated by Kluyveromyces marxianus Efficiently Protects Chickens against Novel Variant and Classical IBDV Strains

Infectious bursal disease (IBD), caused by the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), is a highly contagious and immunosuppressive disease in chickens worldwide. The novel variant IBDV (nvIBDV) has been emerging in Chinese chicken farms since 2017, but there are no available vaccines that can provide effective protection. Herein, the capsid protein VP2 from nvIBDV strain FJ-18 was expressed in Kluyveromyces marxianus with the aim to produce nvIBDV subviral particles (SVPs). Two recombinant strains constructed for expression of nvIBDV VP2 (nvVP2) and His-tagged VP2 (nvHVP2) formed two types of nvIBDV subviral particles (SVPs), namely nvVP2-SVPs and nvHVP2-SVPs. TEM scans showed that both SVPs were about 25 nm in diameter, but there was a large portion of nvVP2-SVPs showing non-spherical particles. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that an N-terminal His tag strengthened the interaction of the nvHVP2 monomer and contributed to the assembly of SVPs. Vaccination of chicks with the nvHVP2-SVPs provided 100% protection against novel variant IBDV infection when challenged with the FJ-18 strain, as well as the classical strain BC6/85. By contrast, vaccination with the nvVP2-SVPs only provided 60% protection against their parent FJ-18 strain, suggesting that the stable conformation of subviral particles posed a great impact on their protective efficacy. Our results showed that the nvHVP2-SVPs produced by the recombinant K. marxianus strain is an ideal vaccine candidate for IBDV eradication.

Genotyping and Molecular Characterization of Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Identified in Important Poultry-Raising Areas of China During 2019 and 2020.

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an acute and highly contagious immunosuppressive disease caused by the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), which seriously threatens the healthy development of the poultry industry. Since its spread to China in the early 1990s, the very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) characterized by high lethality, has been the focus of prevention and control. However, the novel variant IBDV (nVarIBDV), which has been widely prevalent in China since 2017, has brought a new threat to the poultry industry. In this study, the prevalence of IBDV in the important poultry-raising areas of China from 2019 to 2020 was detected. Of these, 45.1% (101/224) of the samples and 61.9% (26/42) of the chicken flocks were shown to be positive for IBDV. For 50 IBDVs, the sequences of the hypervariable region of the VP2 gene in segment A and of the B-marker of the VP1 gene in segment B were analyzed. The results revealed the coexistence of a number of different IBDV genotypes, including A2dB1 (nVar, 26/50, 52.0%), A3B3 (HLJ0504-like, 15/50, 30.0%), A1B1 (classical, 1/50, 2.0%), and A8B1 (attenuated, 1/50, 2.0%). This indicated that the newly emerging nVarIBDV of A2dB1 and the persistently circulating HLJ0504-like vvIBDV of A3B3 are the two important epidemic strains. Furthermore, we established that segment reassortment has occurred among these circulating strains. This study is the first to reveal the novel epidemic characteristics of IBDV since the report of the emerging nVarIBDV of A2dB1 in China.

Comparative pathogenicity of Malaysian variant and very virulent infectious bursal disease viruses in chickens

ABSTRACT Variant infectious bursal disease virus (vaIBDV) has been identified in various countries with significant economic losses. Recently, the first identification of a variant strain in Malaysia was reported. The pathogenicities of the Malaysian variant, UPM1432/2019, and very virulent infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDV), UPM1056/2018 strains were comparatively evaluated in specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens based on gross and histopathological examinations and viral load. Four-week-old SPF chickens were randomly divided into three groups; group 1 served as the control, while groups 2 and 3 birds were challenged with the vaIBDV and vvIBDV, respectively. Three birds from each group were weighed, euthanized and necropsied at 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 21 days post-challenge (dpc). Unlike UPM1056/2018 group, birds from UPM1432/2019 group did not show clinical signs or death. UPM1056/2018 strain caused 11% mortality rate in the infected chickens. The bursal body index (BBIX) for UPM1432/2019- and UPM1056/2018-infected groups was <0.7 from 2 dpc and continued to decrease to 0.49 and 0.45, respectively, at 21 dpc. UPM1432/2019 strain was more persistent in the bursa than UPM1056/2018 strain. Both strains induced similar pathological lesions in SPF chicks. These results indicate that the Malaysian vaIBDV severely damaged the immune organs of chickens and was more persistent in bursal tissue than vvIBDV. The study provides insight into the pathogenicity of the variant strain as further study may be required to evaluate the efficacy of the currently available IBD vaccines in Malaysia against the strain. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Emerging Malaysian variant IBDV caused severe bursal damage without mortality. Atypical vvIBDV induced bursal atrophy with inflammatory response and caused low mortality. Malaysian variant IBDV was more persistent in bursal tissue than vvIBDV.

Pathogenicity and molecular characterization of infectious bursal disease virus in China

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) caused an acute and highly contagious infectious disease, resulting in considerable economic losses in the world poultry industry. Although this disease was well-controlled under the widely use of commercial vaccines, the novel variant IBDV strain emerged due to the highly immunized-selection pressure in the field, posting new threats to poultry industry. Here, we reported the epidemic and pathogenicity of IBDV in Hubei Province from May to August 2020. We isolated 12 IBDV strains from the broiler flocks, including 9 novel variants, 2 very virulent strains and 1 medium virulent strain. Interestingly, we identified a series of changes of amino acid sites in the VP2. Further analysis indicated that the novel variant IBDV strains caused damage to bursa of fabricius and spleen, leading to immunosuppression. Our findings underscore the importance of IBDV surveillance, and provide evidence for understanding the evolution of IBDV.

The emerging naturally reassortant strain of IBDV (genotype A2dB3) having segment A from Chinese novel variant strain and segment B from HLJ 0504-like very virulent strain showed enhanced pathogenicity to three-yellow chickens.

Novel variant infectious bursal disease virus (nvIBDV) is an emerging pathotype that can cause sub-clinical disease with severe, prolonged immunosuppression in young chickens. At present, two major pathotypes, including vvIBDV and nvIBDV, are prevailing in China. In this study, we propose that the nvIBDV is a new genotype (A2dB1b) and also first isolated and characterized a nvIBDV reassortant strain YL160304 (A2dB3) with segments A and B derived, respectively, from the nvIBDV and the HLJ-0504-like vvIBDV from yellow chickens in southern China. The YL160304 causes more extensive cytotropism and can infect specific-pathogen-free chicken embryos with severe subcutaneous hemorrhage. The pathogenicity of YL160304 to 4-week-old three-yellow chickens was determined and compared with those of the nvIBDV QZ191002 and the HLJ-0504-like vvIBDV NN1172. Weight gain was significantly reduced in all the challenged birds. No clinical signs and associated mortality were observed in the birds challenged with QZ191002, while the mortalities in the birds challenged with NN1172 and YL160304 were 30% (3/10) and 10% (1/10), respectively. At 7 days postchallenge, the bursa was severely damaged and the percentage of peripheral blood B lymphocyte (PBBL) decreased significantly in all the challenged birds and the quantity of the viral RNA detected in the bursa was in accordance with the results of the histomorphometry and the depletion of PBBL. This study not only confirmed the emerging epidemic of the novel variant and its reassortant strains, but also discovered that the naturally reassortant nvIBDV strain with the segment B of HLJ 0504-like vvIBDV can significantly enhance the pathogenicity to chickens.