Characterization of new strains of Pseudorabies virus in Argentina: Detection of interspecies transmission

SERENA, MAR; CAPPUCCIO, JAVIER; FOSSAROLI, MELISA; WILLIMAN, MACARENA; DIBARBORA, MARINA; BRIZZIO, RENATA; METZ, GERM; ASPITIA, CAROLINA; PEREZ, ALEJANDRO; CARPINETTI, BRUNO; ECHEVERRÍA M. G.

Open Veterinary Journal

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License

Año: 2023 vol. 13

2226-4485

AbstractBackground: Aujeszky´s disease is mainly a swine disease, still endemic worldwide. It can infect other mammalians,including human beings, and it is usually fatal with nervous symptoms. Ever since the disease was detected in 1988 inArgentina, many outbreaks have been reported involving both feral swine and dogs.Aim: At present, in Argentina, Pseudorabies virus (PRV) cases are sporadically reported; however, clinical cases areinformed. This study aims to obtain information about the seroprevalence of PRV in wild boars and to isolate andcharacterize PRV from clinical samples.Methods: From 2018 to 2019, 78 wild boars’ serum samples from Bahía de Samborombón natural reserve wereanalyzed for antibodies to PRV using a virus neutralization test. Clinical samples from 17 pigs, 2 wild boars, 1 dog,and 1 cat were collected from 2013 to 2019 for viral isolation and detection of the presence of the gD gene by PCR.For sequence analysis, the gC partial gene was amplified.Results: Five strains were isolated from the dog, cat, and swine samples. The new PRV strains identified were confirmedby BLAST analysis, which revealed between 99.74% and 100% of similarity to the NIA-3 strain and phylogeneticanalysis of the partial gene encoding the gC protein revealed that the PRV strains have divided into two main clades,clade 1 and clade 2.Conclusion: This report informed that most new cases of PRV were detected in the central regions of Argentina, wherepig production is concentrated. The study in Bahía de Samborombón revealed a high percentage of detection but, thesampling is not representative of that of the rest of the country. Therefore, a systematic sampling effort of wild boarthroughout the country should be included in the national program control. Although in Argentina only the inactivatedBartha vaccine is allowed, recombination risk should not be ignored if attenuated vaccines are incorporated into theNational control plan. The two strains, one from the cat and one from the dog sample, are directly related to infectedswine. The information about clinical cases and molecular characterization of new strains is important for a betterunderstanding of the dynamics of PRV and to promote preventive measures.