Molecular epidemiology of Akabane virus in Taiwan

Abstract

Abstract Background Akabane virus (AKAV) is a teratogenic and neuropathogenic arbovirus that infects livestock and wild animals. AKAVs are endemic arboviruses from dairy farms in Taiwan in 1989, and the first sequence was detected in cattle with nonsuppurative encephalitis in 1992. Objectives This study aims to understand the epidemiological relationships of the akabane viruses between Taiwan and nearby places. Methods In this study, 17 specimens were identified or isolated from vector insects, and ruminant fetuses collected from 1992 to 2015 were sequenced and analysed. Results Sequence analyses revealed all Taiwanese AKAVs belonged to genogroup Ia but diverged into two clusters in the phylogenetic trees, implying that at least two invasive events of AKAV may have occurred in Taiwan. Conclusions The two clusters of AKAVs could still be identified in Taiwan in 2015, and a reassortment event was observed, indicating that the two clusters of AKAVs are already endemic in Taiwan.

Keywords

• Akabane virus
• cattle
• Culicoides biting midge
• mosquito
• orthobunyavirus