HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (Papers in Press[PDF]) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Google Scholar Articles by Allison, A. B Articles by Stallknecht, D. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Allison, A. B Articles by Stallknecht, D. Agricola Articles by Allison, A. B Articles by Stallknecht, D.

Detection of a novel reassortant epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus in the United States containing RNA segments derived from both exotic and endemic serotypes

¹ University of Georgia;
² Onderstepoort Veterinary Inst.;
³ USDA, ARS;
⁴ USDA, APHIS;
⁵ Institute for Animal Health

⁶ E-mail: allisona{at}uga.edu

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) is a Culicoides-transmitted orbivirus that infects domestic and wild ruminants and is provisionally distributed throughout Africa, North America, Australia, East Asia, and the Middle East. Historically, of the seven proposed serotypes of EHDV, only EHDV-1 and EHDV-2 have been reported from North America. In 2006, EHDV isolates were recovered from moribund or dead white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Indiana and Illinois that could not be identified as either EHDV-1 or EHDV-2 by virus neutralization tests or by serotype-specific RT-PCR. Additional serological and genetic testing identified the isolates as EHDV-6, a serotype that, although originally described from Australia, has recently been recognized as an emerging pathogen of cattle in Morocco, Algeria, and Turkey. In 2007 and 2008, EHDV-6 was isolated again from white-tailed deer; this time in Missouri, Kansas, and Texas, suggesting that the virus is capable of overwintering and that it may become, or already is, endemic in a geographically widespread region of the United States. Genetic characterization of the virus indicates that it is a reassortant, such that the outer capsid proteins determining serotype specificity (VP2 and VP5) are derived from exotic EHDV-6, while the remaining structural and nonstructural proteins were apparently obtained from indigenous EHDV-2 (Alberta).

Received 6 August 2009; accepted 11 October 2009.