Investigation into an outbreak of Border disease virus in pigs in England

Abstract

Border disease (BD) was first reported in 1959 in lambs from the border region of England and Wales. The causative virus (BD virus; BDV) has since been identified in several other ruminant species and pigs. The virus is prevalent in sheep flocks of UK, Europe and USA and has potential to inflict substantial economic losses. Natural BDV infection of pigs was first reported in the UK in 1992 from pigs with haemorrhagic lesions and more recently from healthy pigs in Spain and Japan. Here, a persistent problem of poor growth and anaemia in a small proportion of growing pigs on a mixed pig and sheep holding was investigated and tissues were tested in a pan viral microarray.The microarray detected BDV RNA in several tissues which was further confirmed by sequencing, specific BDV PCR and immunohistochemistry. Phylogenetically, the virus clustered with other BDVs in the sub-genotype 1b. This investigation highlights likely interspecies transmission of pestiviruses and their impact on pestivirus detection and eradication programs.

First Report and Genetic Characterization of Border Disease Virus in Sheep from Hulunbuir, Northeastern China

“…of cross-species infections have been documented in various studies [20,21]. While sheep is the natural host species for BDV, research unequivocally demonstrates that BDV is capable of infecting other animals, including goats [7], cattle [22], pigs [2], and wild boars [23]. In this study, although cattle and sheep typically share the same pasture in Hulunbuir, our cattle herd samples yielded no positive results (data not shown).…”

“…Since sheep infected with BDV experience a brief period of viremia, serological detection could be suitable for epidemiological monitoring of BDV [1]. Nevertheless, the serological cross-reactions induced by pestiviruses should be rigorously substantiated [2,22]. The source of the virus remains unclear, and it is worth noting that sheep, especially lambs, are frequently transported across provinces in China, which could facilitate BDV transmission and contribute to the virus's geographical spread.…”

“…In addition to BDV, the Pestivirus genus encompasses notable species: classical swine fever virus (CSFV), bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 (BVDV-1), and BVDV-2. These viruses share key features as single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses, characterized by a singular open reading frame encoding a polyprotein, subsequently cleaved by both viral and cellular proteases into N pro , capsid (C), three envelope proteins (E rns , E1, and E2), and seven nonstructural proteins (p7, NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A, and NS5B) [1,2].…”

Editorial: Host response to veterinary infectious diseases: role of coding and non-coding RNAs as biomarkers and disease modulators

“…As shown in one of the articles published in this topic, short hairpin RNA (shRNA), a form of RNAi, was found to suppress the replication of border disease virus ( Hajihasani Arani et al ). Border disease is a viral sickness of small ruminants and pigs ( 29 ) that might lead to symptoms such as infertility, abortion, stillbirth, and the birth of tiny, faint young ( 30 ).…”