Association of Batai Virus Infection and Encephalitis in Harbor Seals, Germany, 2016

Jo, Wendy K; Pfankuche, Vanessa Maria; Lehmbecker, Annika; Martina, Benedict; Rubio-García, Ana; Becker, Stefanie; Kruppa, Jochen; Jung, Klaus; Klotz, D.; Metzger, Julia; Ludlow, Martin; Baumgärtner, Wolfgang; Vries, Erhard van der; Osterhaus, Albert D. M. E.

doi:10.3201/eid2409.171829

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Immunohistochemistry or PCR can only detect pathogens, where a specific knowledge about the presumed pathogen is present (20). In the current study, a novel nonspecific viral detection technique was applied, which was already successfully used for metagenomic investigations in human CSF (21)(22)(23) and various veterinary samples (24)(25)(26): Sensitivity and specificity of NGS in human CSF sample was 95 and 96%, respectively (21). NGS sequencing discovers viral DNA or RNA without requiring any prior knowledge (27) of specific viruses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canine Meningoencephalitis of Unknown Origin—The Search for Infectious Agents in the Cerebrospinal Fluid via Deep Sequencing

Neßler

Osterhaus

et al. 2021

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) describes a group of meningoencephalitides in dogs with a hitherto unknown trigger. An infectious agent has been suggested as one possible trigger of MUO but has not been proven so far. A relatively new method to screen for viral RNA or DNA is next-generation sequencing (NGS) or deep sequencing. In this study, a metagenomics analysis of the virome in a sample is analyzed and scanned for known or unknown viruses. We examined fresh-frozen CSF of 6 dogs with MUO via NGS using a modified sequence-independent, single-primer amplification protocol to detect a possible infectious trigger. Analysis of sequencing reads obtained from the six CSF samples showed no evidence of a virus infection. The inability to detect a viral trigger which could be implicated in the development of MUO in the examined population of European dogs, suggests that the current techniques are not sufficiently sensitive to identify a possible virus infection, that the virus is already eliminated at the time-point of disease outbreak, the trigger might be non-infectious or that there is no external trigger responsible for initiating MUO in dogs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canine Meningoencephalitis of Unknown Origin—The Search for Infectious Agents in the Cerebrospinal Fluid via Deep Sequencing

Neßler

Osterhaus

et al. 2021

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…Besides mild flu-like illnesses in humans [6], infections with BATV appear not to cause clinical signs in the majority of the vertebrate hosts, and, therefore, may only pose a minor threat to human and veterinary public health. However, a German harbor seal with fatal encephalitis was found to be naturally infected with BATV [5]. Furthermore, infections with the closely related Cache Valley virus in America are associated with stillbirth and congenital abnormalities in ruminants [19] and encephalitis in humans [20].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, in Europe, BATV-associated disease has not yet been described in ruminants. However, a BATV infection was detected in a German captive harbor seal with manifested encephalitis [5]. In humans, infections with BATV have been associated with influenza-like symptoms including fever, bronchopneumonia, tonsillitis, and gastritis [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serological and Molecular Investigation of Batai Virus Infections in Ruminants from the State of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, 2018

Cichon

Eiden

Schulz

et al. 2021

Viruses

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Arthropod-borne Batai virus (BATV) is an Orthobunyavirus widely distributed throughout European livestock and has, in the past, been linked to febrile diseases in humans. In Germany, BATV was found in mosquitoes and in one captive harbor seal, and antibodies were recently detected in various ruminant species. We have, therefore, conducted a follow-up study in ruminants from Saxony-Anhalt, the most affected region in Eastern Germany. A total of 325 blood samples from apparently healthy sheep, goats, and cattle were tested using a BATV-specific qRT-PCR and SNT. Even though viral RNA was not detected, the presence of antibodies was confirmed in the sera of all three species: sheep (16.5%), goats (18.3%), and cattle (41.4%). Sera were further analyzed by a glycoprotein Gc-based indirect ELISA to evaluate Gc-derived antibodies as a basis for a new serological test for BATV infections. Interestingly, the presence of neutralizing antibodies was not directly linked to the presence of BATV Gc antibodies. Overall, our results illustrate the high frequency of BATV infections in ruminants in Eastern Germany.

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“…As a result, it could play a critical role in maintaining and transmitting exotic mosquito-borne viruses to susceptible species including humans. The widespread distribution of BATV in mainland Europe [31], and its wide vertebrate host range, including its recent detection in harbour seals in northern Germany [32], suggests that the virus has the potential to emerge in the UK in the near future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral susceptibility of aedine and culicine mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) to Batai orthobunyavirus

Hernández‐Triana

Folly

Barrero

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background A number of zoonotic mosquito-borne viruses have emerged in Europe in recent decades. Batai virus (BATV), orthobunyavirus, is one example having been detected in mosquitoes and livestock. We conducted vector competency studies on three mosquito species at a low temperature to assess whether Aedes and Culex mosquito species are susceptible to infection with BATV. Methods Colonised lines of Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens, and a wild-caught species, Aedes detritus, were orally inoculated with BATV strain 53.2, originally isolated from mosquitoes trapped in Germany in 2009. Groups of blood-fed female mosquitoes were maintained at 20oC for seven or fourteen days. Individual mosquitoes were screened for the presence of BATV in body, leg and saliva samples for evidence of infection, dissemination and transmission, respectively. Batai virus RNA was detected by RT-PCR and positive results confirmed by virus isolation in Vero cells. Results Aedes detritus was highly susceptible to BATV with infection prevalence at or above 80% at both time points. Disseminated infections were recorded in 30.7–41.6% of Ae. detritus and evidence for virus transmission with BATV detected in saliva samples (n = 1, dpi = 14) was observed. Lower rates of infection for Ae. aegypti and Cx. pipiens with no evidence for virus dissemination or transmission at either time point. Conclusions This study shows Ae. detritus may be a competent vector for BATV at 20oC, whereas Ae. aegypti and Cx. pipiens were not competent. Critically, the extrinsic incubation period appears to be ≤ 7 days for Ae. detritus, which may increase the onward transmissibility potential of BATV in these populations.

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Association of Batai Virus Infection and Encephalitis in Harbor Seals, Germany, 2016

Cited by 19 publications

References 15 publications

Canine Meningoencephalitis of Unknown Origin—The Search for Infectious Agents in the Cerebrospinal Fluid via Deep Sequencing

Canine Meningoencephalitis of Unknown Origin—The Search for Infectious Agents in the Cerebrospinal Fluid via Deep Sequencing

Serological and Molecular Investigation of Batai Virus Infections in Ruminants from the State of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, 2018

Oral susceptibility of aedine and culicine mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) to Batai orthobunyavirus

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