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Molecular analysis and serological survey of Tembusu virus infection in Zhejiang, China, 2010-2016

Archives of Virology volume 163, pages 3225–3234 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Tembusu virus (TMUV) is an important pathogen that causes acute egg drop syndrome in poultry. To investigate the epidemiological status of Tembusu virus in Zhejiang province, we collected clinical samples and sera from the local area from 2010 to 2016. A total of 41 out of the 88 collected tissue samples were identified as TMUV-infected by RT-PCR and were confirmed by sequencing. Six TMUV strains were isolated from TMUV-positive samples, and their complete genome sequences were determined. In addition, 19 E gene sequences amplified from RT-PCR-positive samples were determined. Sequence identity values among the 19 E genes and reference E sequences ranged from 96.8% to 100.0%, and they ranged from 97.3% to 99.9% when comparing the six genome sequences and references. Nineteen sites with amino acid mutations were identified in the E protein of nineteen strains, and these were at positions that are usually conserved in other TMUV strains. Antibodies to TMUV in serum samples were detected by indirect ELISA using recombinant EDIII (domain III of the E protein) as the antigen. The results showed that TMUV-specific antibodies were widely present in duck populations, with positive rates of 17.38%, 21.99%, 26.68%, and 17.79% in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. The data from this study provide a good understanding of the epidemiology of TMUV infections in Zhejiang, China.

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Funding

This study was funded by National Key Technology R & D Program of China (Grant number 2015BAD12B01).

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Author notes

  1. Xiaozhi Huang and Huibo Qiu contributed equally to this work.

Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Animal Virology of Ministry of Agriculture, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaozhi Huang, Huibo Qiu, Xing Peng, Wenbin Zhao, Kaikun Mo, Yan Yan, Min Liao & Jiyong Zhou

  2. Yuyao Municipal Institute of Poultry Disease, Yuyao, 315400, People’s Republic of China

    Xinhao Lu

Authors
  1. Xiaozhi Huang
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  2. Huibo Qiu
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  3. Xing Peng
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  4. Wenbin Zhao
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  5. Xinhao Lu
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  6. Kaikun Mo
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  7. Yan Yan
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  8. Min Liao
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  9. Jiyong Zhou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Min Liao.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The animal treatments were approved and performed in accordance with the animal ethics guidelines and approved procedures of the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Care and Use of Zhejiang University (ZJU20170388).

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Handling Editor: Tatjana Avsic-Zupanc.

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Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in Table S 1-5. (DOC 169 kb)

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Huang, X., Qiu, H., Peng, X. et al. Molecular analysis and serological survey of Tembusu virus infection in Zhejiang, China, 2010-2016. Arch Virol 163, 3225–3234 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-018-3994-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-018-3994-4