ABSTRACT
Pigeon paramyxovirus-1 (PPMV-1) is a strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) that has adapted to infect pigeons and poses a constant threat to the commercial poultry industry. Early detection via rapid and sensitive methods, along with timely preventative and mitigating actions, is important for reducing the spread of PPMV-1. Here, we report the development of a TaqMan loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay (TaqMan-LAMP) for rapid and specific detection of PPMV-1 based on the F gene. This system makes use of six novel primers and a TaqMan probe that targets nine distinct regions of the F gene that are highly conserved among PPMV-1 isolates. The results showed that the limit of detection was 10 copies µL-1 for PPMV-1 cDNA and 0.1 ng for PPMV-1 RNA. The reaction was completed within 25 min and was thus faster than conventional RT-PCR. Moreover, no cross-reactions with similar viruses or with peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) or NDV LaSota vaccine strains were observed under the same conditions. To evaluate the applicability of the assay, the TaqMan-LAMP assay and a commercial RT-PCR assay were compared using 108 clinical samples, and the concordance rate between two methods was found to be 96.3%. The newly developed PPMV-1 TaqMan-LAMP assay can therefore be used for simple, efficient, rapid, specific, and sensitive diagnosis of PPMV-1 infections.
Subject(s)
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques/veterinary , Newcastle disease virus/genetics , Newcastle disease virus/isolation & purification , Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/veterinary , Animals , Columbidae , Feces/virology , Molecular Diagnostic Techniques/methods , Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/methods , RNA, Viral , Sensitivity and Specificity , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported in Wuhan, China, and rapidly spread throughout the world. This newly emerging pathogen is highly transmittable and can cause fatal disease. More than 35 million cases have been confirmed, with a fatality rate of about 2.9% to October 9, 2020. However, the original and intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2 remain unknown. Here, 3160 poultry samples collected from 14 provinces of China between September and December 2019 were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection. All the samples were SARS-CoV-2 negative, but 593 avian coronaviruses were detected, including 485 avian infectious bronchitis viruses, 72 duck coronaviruses, and 36 pigeon coronaviruses, with positivity rates of 15.35%, 2.28%, and 1.14%, respectively. Our surveillance demonstrates the diversity of avian coronaviruses in China, with higher prevalence rates in some regions. Furthermore, the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 originated from a known avian-origin coronavirus can be preliminarily ruled out. More surveillance of and research into avian coronaviruses are required to better understand the diversity, distribution, cross-species transmission, and clinical significance of these viruses.