HoBi-like Pestivirus Is Highly Prevalent in Cattle Herds in the Amazon Region (Northern Brazil)
Leticia F. Baumbach,
Ana Cristina S. Mósena,
Raquel S. Alves,
Laura J. Camargo,
Juliana C. Olegário,
Leonardo R. Lobraico,
João Marcos N. Costa,
Mauro R. Borba,
Fernando V. Bauermann,
Matheus N. Weber,
Cláudio W. Canal
Affiliations
Leticia F. Baumbach
Laboratório de Virologia, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 90040-060, RS, Brazil
Ana Cristina S. Mósena
Laboratório de Virologia, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 90040-060, RS, Brazil
Raquel S. Alves
Laboratório de Virologia, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 90040-060, RS, Brazil
Laura J. Camargo
Laboratório de Virologia, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 90040-060, RS, Brazil
Juliana C. Olegário
Laboratório de Virologia, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 90040-060, RS, Brazil
Leonardo R. Lobraico
Laboratório de Virologia, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 90040-060, RS, Brazil
João Marcos N. Costa
Secretaria de Defesa Agropecuária, Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Pedro Leopoldo 33600-000, MG, Brazil
Mauro R. Borba
Laboratório de Epidemiologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 90040-060, RS, Brazil
Fernando V. Bauermann
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University (OSU), Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
Matheus N. Weber
Laboratório de Microbiologia Molecular, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Feevale, Novo Hamburgo 93510-235, RS, Brazil
Cláudio W. Canal
Laboratório de Virologia, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 90040-060, RS, Brazil
Pestiviruses are globally distributed and cause substantial economic losses to the cattle industry. In Brazil, the country with the world’s largest cattle population, pestivirus infections are well described in some regions, such as in the south, where a high frequency of BVDV-2 is described and contrasts with the high prevalence of HoBi-like pestivirus (HoBiPeV) in the northeast. However, there is a lack of information about pestiviruses in the Amazon Region, in northern Brazil, with a cattle population estimated at 55.7 million head, which has a significant impact on the international livestock market. Therefore, this study investigated the seroprevalence and genetic variability of ruminant pestiviruses in 944 bovine serum samples from four states in northern Brazil: Pará (PA), Amapá (AP), Roraima (RR), and Amazonas (AM). Our results showed that 45.4% of the samples were seropositive (19.8% for BVDV-1, 14.1% for BVDV-2, and 20.9% for HoBiPeV). All samples were tested by RT–qPCR, and three were positive and classified as HoBiPeV in a phylogenetic analysis. These serological and molecular results contrast with those from other regions of the world, suggesting that the northern Brazilian states have a high prevalence of all bovine pestiviruses including HoBiPeV.
