Production and characterization of biologicals for disease diagnosis and pathological evaluation of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV).

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHV) belong to the family Herpesviridae and cause a highly fatal hemorrhagic infection in elephants. EEHV poses a global threat to the already endangered elephant population. Since EEHV is a non-cultivable virus, there is a scarcity of specific diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. In this study, our objective was to develop biologicals for diagnosis and pathological studies against the most prevalent EEHV1A/1B. We expressed two truncated fragments of the DNA polymerase, glycoprotein B (gB), and glycoprotein (gL) of EEHV in the prokaryotic system. Hyperimmune serum against the purified antigens was raised in rabbits and guinea pigs. We validated the reactivity of this hyperimmune serum using western blotting, ELISA, and immune-histochemistry on known positive infected tissues. Samples collected from 270 animals across various states in India were evaluated with these biologicals. The raised antibodies successfully demonstrated virus in immune-cytochemistry. Additionally, all known positive samples consistently exhibited significant inhibition in the OD values when used in the competitive format of ELISA across all four antigens when compared to the serum collected from known negative animals. An apparent sero-prevalence of 10 % was observed in the randomly collected samples. In summary, our study successfully developed and validated biologicals that will be invaluable for EEHV diagnosis and control.

High mortality in free-ranging wild boars associated with African swine fever virus in India.

The present study focuses on the pathological and molecular characterization of African swine fever virus (ASFV) associated with an outbreak in wild boars in two national parks in southern India in 2022-2023. Significant mortality was observed among free-ranging wild boars at Bandipur National Park, Karnataka, and Mudumalai National Park, Tamil Nadu. Extensive combing operations were undertaken in both national parks, spanning an area of around 100 km2, originating from the reported epicenter, to estimate the mortality rate. Recovered carcasses were pathologically examined, and ASFV isolates was genetically characterized. Our findings suggested spillover infection of ASFV from nearby domestic pigs, and the virus was equally pathogenic in wild boars and domestic pigs. ASFV intrusion was reported in the Northeastern region of the country, which borders China and Myanmar, whereas the current outbreak is very distantly located, in southern India. Molecular data will help in tracing the spread of the virus in the country.

Development and evaluation of recombinant gD protein based ELISA for sero-surveillance of BoHV-1 in India.

Bovine herpes virus-1 (BoHV-1) is responsible for production losses through decreased milk yields, abortions, infertility, and trade restrictions in the bovine population. The disease is endemic in many countries including India. As the virus harbors a unique feature of latency animals once infected with the virus remain sero-positive for lifetime and can re-excrete the virus when exposed to stressful conditions. Hence, identification and culling of infected animals is only the means to minimize infection-associated losses. In this study, an economical indigenous assay for the detection of BoHV-1 specific antibodies was developed to cater to the huge bovine population of the country. The viral structural gD protein, expressed in the prokaryotic system was used for optimization of an indirect ELISA for bovines followed by statistical validation of the assay. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the indirect ELISA were 82.9% and 91.3% respectively. Systematically collected serum samples representing organized, unorganized and breeding farms of India were tested with the indigenously developed assay for further validation.

A retrospective study showing a high rate of seropositivity against SARS-CoV-2 in wild felines in India.

We report a high rate of seropositivity against SARS-CoV-2 in wild felines in India. Seropositivity was determined by microneutralization and plaque reduction neutralization assays in captive Asiatic lions, leopards, and Bengal tigers. The rate of seropositivity was positively correlated with that of the incidence in humans, suggesting the occurrence of large spillover events.

LSDV126 gene based molecular assays for specific detection and characterization of emerging Lumpy Skin Disease virus.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a highly infectious and economically important viral disease, which is currently emerging in the Indian subcontinent. LSD is caused by Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV) under the genus Capripoxvirus and the family Poxviridae. Since its first incursion in India in the year 2019, the virus is rapidly disseminating through different means like direct contact, fomites and mainly by blood-feeding insects. As the disease has never been reported from India or neighbouring countries, there is a lack of planning and preparatory measures in terms of diagnostics and vaccines to control the disease. In the absence of any homologous vaccine, a live attenuated heterologous goat pox vaccine (Uttarkashi strain) is now being widely used in the country for the prevention of LSDV infection. Use of live attenuated goat pox virus vaccine necessitates the availability of an assay which could specifically detect and differentiate LSDV from goat pox virus. In this study, nucleotide sequences of LSDV126 gene encoding extracellular enveloped virus protein of circulating LSDV and goat pox virus were determined and analyzed. Deletion of 27 nt tandem repeats was observed in LSDV in comparison to goat pox and LSDV vaccine viruses. The deletion region was targeted for designing primers specific to LSDV, but not goat pox virus. A novel isothermal polymerase spiral reaction (PSR) was optimized as pen side diagnostic for prompt and sensitive detection of genomic DNA of LSDV. The assay was found to be highly sensitive and specific when compared to the real-time PCR. The assay was found to be specifically detecting only LSDV but not the goat pox virus. The limit of detection was identified as 9 × 10-6 ng of positive DNA. The assay will provide a point of care tool that will be a boon for the successful control of LSD in India.

Genetic and phylogenetic characterization of polycistronic dsRNA segment-10 of bluetongue virus isolates from India between 1985 and 2011.

The smallest polycistronic dsRNA segment-10 (S10) of bluetongue virus (BTV) encodes NS3/3A and putative NS5. The S10 sequence data of 46 Indian BTV field isolates obtained between 1985 and 2011 were determined and compared with the cognate sequences of global BTV strains. The largest ORF on S10 encodes NS3 (229 aa) and an amino-terminal truncated form of the protein (NS3A) and a putative NS5 (50-59 aa) due to alternate translation initiation site. The overall mean distance of the global NS3 was 0.1106 and 0.0269 at nt and deduced aa sequence, respectively. The global BTV strains formed four major clusters. The major cluster of Indian BTV strains was closely related to the viruses reported from Australia and China. A minor sub-cluster of Indian BTV strains were closely related to the USA strains and a few of the Indian strains were similar to the South African reference and vaccine strains. The global trait association of phylogenetic structure indicates the evolution of the global BTV S10 was not homogenous but rather represents a moderate level of geographical divergence. There was no evidence of an association between the virus and the host species, suggesting a random spread of the viruses. Conflicting selection pressure on the alternate coding sequences of the S10 was evident where NS3/3A might have evolved through strong purifying (negative) selection and NS5 through a positive selection. The presence of multiple positively selected codons on the putative NS5 may be advantageous for adaptation of the virus though their precise role is unknown.