Monitoring for bovine arboviruses in the most southwestern islands in Japan between 1994 and 2014

Abstract

BackgroundIn Japan, epizootic arboviral infections have severely impacted the livestock industry for a long period. Akabane, Aino, Chuzan, bovine ephemeral fever and Ibaraki viruses have repeatedly caused epizootic abnormal births and febrile illness in the cattle population. In addition, Peaton, Sathuperi, Shamonda and D’Aguilar viruses and epizootic hemorrhagic virus serotype 7 have recently emerged in Japan and are also considered to be involved in abnormal births in cattle. The above-mentioned viruses are hypothesized to circulate in tropical and subtropical Asia year round and to be introduced to temperate East Asia by long-distance aerial dispersal of infected vectors. To watch for arbovirus incursion and assess the possibility of its early warning, monitoring for arboviruses was conducted in the Yaeyama Islands, located at the most southwestern area of Japan, between 1994 and 2014.ResultsBlood sampling was conducted once a year, in the autumn, in 40 to 60 healthy cattle from the Yaeyama Islands. Blood samples were tested for arboviruses. A total of 33 arboviruses including Akabane, Peaton, Chuzan, D’ Aguilar, Bunyip Creek, Batai and epizootic hemorrhagic viruses were isolated from bovine blood samples. Serological surveillance for the bovine arboviruses associated with cattle diseases in young cattle (ages 6–12 months: had only been alive for one summer) clearly showed their frequent incursion into the Yaeyama Islands. In some cases, the arbovirus incursions could be detected in the Yaeyama Islands prior to their spread to mainland Japan.ConclusionsWe showed that long-term surveillance in the Yaeyama Islands could estimate the activity of bovine arboviruses in neighboring regions and may provide a useful early warning for likely arbovirus infections in Japan. The findings in this study could contribute to the planning of prevention and control for bovine arbovirus infections in Japan and cooperative efforts among neighboring countries in East Asia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-016-0747-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A large-scale serological survey of Akabane virus infection in cattle, yak, sheep and goats in China

“…The detection of neutralising antibodies to AKAV, AINOV and PEAV in our samples is perhaps unsurprising as these virus have been reported previously in Asia (Kato et al, 2016;Kim et al, 2015;Lim et al, 2007;Matsumori et al, 2002). The absence of neutralising antibodies to THIV in our samples is not completely unexpected as this virus has previously only been reported to be associated with birds and macropods (Standfast et al, 1982).…”

Seasonal and spatial variation in Culicoides community structure and their potential role in transmitting Simbu serogroup viruses in Israel

“…The primary species found on ruminant farms are Culicoides imicola Kieffer, 1913, Culicoides circumscriptus Kieffer, 1918, Culicoides newsteadi Austen, 1921, Culicoides puncticollis Becker, 1903, and Culicoides from the Schultzei group, mainly Culicoides oxystoma Kieffer, 1910 (Braverman, Chechik, & Mullens, ; Braverman et al, ; Morag, Saroya, Braverman, Klement, & Gottlieb, ). These species are implicated in the transmission of several arboviruses, such as bluetongue virus (BTV), epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus, African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and Simbu serogroup viruses (Braverman, Barzilay, Frish, & Rubina, ; Foxi et al, ; Kato, Shirafuji, et al, ; Kato, Yanase, et al, ; Meiswinkel, Gomulski, Delécolle, Goffredo, & Gasperi, ; Mellor et al, ; Purse et al, ; Yanase et al, ).…”

Transition of Akabane virus genogroups and its association with changes in the nature of disease in Japan

“…The distribution of occurrences might depend on the AKAV immune status of regional cattle populations and weather conditions that affect vector abundances and behaviours. Although the AKAV spread has been frequently identified by seroepidemiology and virus isolation, very few clinical cases have been reported in Okinawa Prefecture (Kato, Yanase et al., ). Natural infection by AKAV in cattle might occur frequently in the subtropical region and consequently, a high seroprevalence possibly restricted the disease occurrence.…”