Molecular Characterization of Newcastle Disease Viruses Isolated from Chickens in Tanzania and Ghana
Ana P. da Silva,
Emily J. Aston,
Gaspar H. Chiwanga,
Ashley Birakos,
Amandus P. Muhairwa,
Boniface B. Kayang,
Terra Kelly,
Huaijun Zhou,
Rodrigo A. Gallardo
Affiliations
Ana P. da Silva
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Emily J. Aston
Department of Animal Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Gaspar H. Chiwanga
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
Ashley Birakos
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Amandus P. Muhairwa
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
Boniface B. Kayang
Department of Animal Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra 233, Ghana
Terra Kelly
One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Huaijun Zhou
Department of Animal Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Rodrigo A. Gallardo
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most challenging infectious diseases affecting poultry production in Africa, causing major economic losses. To date, Newcastle disease virus isolates from several African countries have been grouped into class II NDV genotypes I, IV, V, VI, VII, XI, XIII, XIV, XVII, XVIII and XXI. Although ND is endemic in many African countries, information on circulating genotypes is still scarce. In Tanzania, outbreaks with genotypes V and XIII have been reported. In West and Central Africa, genotypes XIV, XVII, and XVIII are the most predominant. To investigate other genotypes circulating in Tanzania and Ghana, we performed molecular genotyping on isolates from Tanzania and Ghana using the MinION, a third-generation portable sequencing device from Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Using the MinION, we successfully sequenced the NDV F gene hypervariable region of 24 isolates from Tanzania and four samples from Ghana. In Tanzania, genotypes V, VII and XIII were detected. All isolates from Ghana belonged to genotype XVIII. The data obtained in this study reflect the genetic diversity of NDV in Africa and highlight the importance of surveillance for monitoring the distribution of NDV genotypes and viral evolution.
