Seroprevalence and risk factors related to small ruminant lentivirus infections in Belgian sheep and goats

Michiels, Rodolphe; Mael, Eva Van; Quinet, Christian; Welby, Sarah; Cay, Ann Brigitte; Regge, Nick De

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2017.12.014

Cited by 35 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Independent of the farm size, 7 animals were sampled per farm. More details on the methodology and sample collection can be found in Michiels et al [14] and details on the samples used in this study are presented in Table 2. Fifteen out of 87 sheep herds and 10 out of 76 goat herds were found to contain at least one SRLV infected animal.…”

Section: Sample Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Belgium, a recent nationwide seroprevalence study confirmed the presence of SRLV in 13% and 17% of sheep and goat farms, respectively [14]. Therefore, we decided to perform a genetic characterization of SRLV strains circulating in the Belgian sheep and goat population, based on the genomic fragments proposed by Shah et al We also carried out a critical evaluation of the current SRLV classification and propose to apply more rigorous sequencing standards to ensure a correct classification of current and future SRLV subtypes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Phylogenetic Analysis of Belgian Small Ruminant Lentiviruses Supports Cross Species Virus Transmission and Identifies New Subtype B5 Strains

2020

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Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) are a group of highly divergent viruses responsible for global and fatal infections in sheep and goats. Since the current phylogenetic classification of these viruses was proposed in 2004, it nowadays consists out of 5 genotypes and 28 subtypes. In support of our national SRLV control program, we performed the genetic characterization of SRLV strains circulating in the Belgian sheep and goat population. Fourteen sheep and 9 goat strains were sequenced in the gag-pol and pol regions using the method described by Shah. Most SRLV strains from sheep and goats belonged to prototype A1 and B1 subtypes, respectively. We, however, also found indications for cross-species transmission of SRLV strains between sheep and goats and vice versa, and identified a new subtype designated as B5. An in-depth analysis of the current SRLV phylogeny revealed that many subtypes have been defined over the years based on limited sequence information. To keep phylogeny as a useful tool, we advocate to apply more rigorous sequencing standards to ensure the correct classification of current and new emerging strains. The genetic characterization of Belgian SRLV strains will help in the development of appropriate diagnostic tools to assist the national control program.

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Section: Sample Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenetic Analysis of Belgian Small Ruminant Lentiviruses Supports Cross Species Virus Transmission and Identifies New Subtype B5 Strains

2020

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“…These programs depend on good diagnostic assays that mostly use blood samples [2,13]. When governments implement voluntary control programs, as is the case in Belgium, the participation among sheep and goat owners is often limited due to high costs for blood sample collection and testing [32]. Therefore, we evaluated whether milk, which is more easily and cheaply collected, could be used as a valid matrix for serological and virological SRLV detection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SRLVs are also present in Belgium, and a between-herd seroprevalence of 17% in sheep and 13% in goats farms was recently reported [32]. To provide farmers with the opportunity to participate at expositions and to export to third countries, the government has installed a voluntary program to obtain an SRLV-free certificate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

(Non-)Sense of Milk Testing in Small Ruminant Lentivirus Control Programs in Goats. Comparative Analysis of Antibody Detection and Molecular Diagnosis in Blood and Milk

Adjadj

Vicca

Michiels

et al. 2019

Viruses

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Small ruminant lentivirus (SRLV) control programs are mainly based on diagnostic tests performed on blood samples collected from sheep and goats. Since blood sampling is costly and stressful for the animals, we evaluated whether milk could be used as an inexpensive and easily collectable matrix for SRLV detection. We therefore compared SRLV detection via two commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in blood and corresponding milk samples from 321 goats originating from eight different SRLV-infected farms in Flanders (Belgium). The IDscreen® ELISA had a better relative sensitivity (97% vs 93%) and specificity (100% and 97%) than the Elitest® ELISA for SRLV-specific antibody detection in milk compared to serum. The higher sensitivity correlates with a 10-fold higher analytical sensitivity of the IDscreen® test. In contrast to the overall good ELISA results, qPCR on milk cell pellets lacked sensitivity (81%) and specificity (88%), compared to molecular detection in blood leucocyte pellets. Our results show that serology is more suitable than qPCR for SRLV diagnosis, and that milk may represent an interesting matrix for a preliminary evaluation of a herd’s infection status. Serum remains however the sample of choice for control programs where it is important to identify positive animals with the highest sensitivity.

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“…However, these programs are heterogeneous in terms of their planning and effectiveness, which highly depends on the number of participating farms, the regional prevalence of the disease, and the diagnostic methods applied to detect the infected animals [9]. It has now been recognized that early diagnosis of viral infection in MV is more complicated than originally thought and constitutes a major barrier for the effective eradication of the disease [10,11]. Most of the programs used for the control of the disease are based on serological tests to detect antibodies against the virus [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Etiology, Epizootiology and Control of Maedi-Visna in Dairy Sheep: A Review

Kalogianni

Bossis

Ekateriniadou³

et al. 2020

Animals

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Maedi-visna (MV) in sheep is caused by maedi-visna virus (MVV), a small ruminant lentivirus (SRLV) that causes chronic infection and inflammatory lesions in infected animals. Pneumonia and mastitis are its predominant clinical manifestations, and the tissues infected by MVV are mainly the lungs, the mammary gland, the nervous system and the joints. MV has a worldwide distribution with distinct MVV transmission patterns depending on circulating strains and regionally applied control/eradication schemes. Nevertheless, the prevalence rate of MV universally increases. Currently, gaps in understanding the epizootiology of MV, the continuous mutation of existing and the emergence of new small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) strains, lack of an effective detection protocol and the inefficiency of currently applied preventive measures render elimination of MV an unrealistic target. Therefore, modifications on the existing MV surveillance and control schemes on an evidentiary basis are necessary. Updated control schemes require the development of diagnostic protocols for the early and definitive diagnosis of MVV infections. The objectives of this review are to summarize the current knowledge in the epizootiology and control of MV in dairy sheep, to describe the research framework and to cover existing gaps in understanding future challenges regarding MV.

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Seroprevalence and risk factors related to small ruminant lentivirus infections in Belgian sheep and goats

Cited by 35 publications

References 21 publications

Phylogenetic Analysis of Belgian Small Ruminant Lentiviruses Supports Cross Species Virus Transmission and Identifies New Subtype B5 Strains

Phylogenetic Analysis of Belgian Small Ruminant Lentiviruses Supports Cross Species Virus Transmission and Identifies New Subtype B5 Strains

(Non-)Sense of Milk Testing in Small Ruminant Lentivirus Control Programs in Goats. Comparative Analysis of Antibody Detection and Molecular Diagnosis in Blood and Milk

Etiology, Epizootiology and Control of Maedi-Visna in Dairy Sheep: A Review

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