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Viruses
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Viral Diseases of Livestock and Diagnostics
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Viral Diseases of Livestock and Diagnostics

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Viruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 February 2024) | Viewed by 10460

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Scott P. Kenney

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Food Animal Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
Interests: molecular virology; virus host interactions; zoonotic diseases; hepatitis; hepatitis E virus; African swine fever virus; coronavirus
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Production animals represent one of the major sources of protein for a significant portion of the world’s population. High density livestock production systems are highly vulnerable to disease outbreaks with their large numbers of animals combined with continuous breeding of young animals that are naïve for circulating pathogens.  Additionally, livestock animals and products derived from livestock animals represent the largest area on the human-animal interaction interface.  Billions of humans interact daily with food items derived from livestock, directly with livestock, or with waste products generated from livestock facilities. This constant interaction allows viruses to sample humans as hosts, posing a threat for zoonotic transmission. Adaptation of animal viruses to humans could result in new pandemics.  This threat is not unidirectional as livestock farmers can also transmit diseases to their animals in a process known as zooanthroponosis or reverse zoonosis.  Vigilance and understanding of these pathogens are key steps to limit existing and emerging diseases.

Diseases such as influenza, COVID-19, and Rift Valley fever have highlighted the need for in-depth understanding of disease transmission. Rapid diagnostic tools in the field help generate the basic knowledge that builds the foundation for future disease prevention. Newer technologies allowing for faster, more sensitive, and more accurate diagnostics that are also cost effective are needed to monitor and treat emerging threats before they become established on farms.            

This Special Issue is intended to provide works from researchers with scientific expertise in virology, disease transmission, and diagnostics who share a common desire to (1) understand the current, emerged, and emerging viral diseases within the livestock industry, (2) use emerging technologies that can possibly contribute to new diagnostic tools, and (3) utilize new approaches to eradicate potential viral pathogenic livestock threats.

Dr. Scott P. Kenney
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • viral disease
  • zoonosis
  • zooanthroponosis
  • production animal

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1641 KiB  
Article
The Development of a Sensitive Droplet Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction Test for Quantitative Detection of Goose Astrovirus
by Jianzhou Shi, Qianyue Jin, Xiaozhan Zhang, Jinbing Zhao, Na Li, Bingxue Dong, Jinran Yu and Lunguang Yao
Viruses 2024, 16(5), 765; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16050765 - 11 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 946
Abstract
(1) Goose astrovirus (GAstV) is a novel emerging pathogen that causes significant economic losses in waterfowl farming. A convenient, sensitive, and specific detection method for GAstV in field samples is important in order to effectively control GAstV. Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) [...] Read more.
(1) Goose astrovirus (GAstV) is a novel emerging pathogen that causes significant economic losses in waterfowl farming. A convenient, sensitive, and specific detection method for GAstV in field samples is important in order to effectively control GAstV. Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) is a novel, sensitive, good-precision, and absolute quantitation PCR technology which does not require calibration curves. (2) In this study, we developed a ddPCR system for the sensitive and accurate quantification of GAstV using the conserved region of the ORF2 gene. (3) The detection limit of ddPCR was 10 copies/µL, ~28 times greater sensitivity than quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The specificity of the test was determined by the failure of amplification of other avian viruses. Both ddPCR and qPCR tests showed good repeatability and linearity, and the established ddPCR method had high sensitivity and good specificity to GAstV. Clinical sample test results showed that the positive rate of ddPCR (88.89%) was higher than that of qPCR (58.33%). (4) As a result, our results suggest that the newly developed ddPCR method might offer improved analytical sensitivity and specificity in its GAstV measurements. The ddPCR could be widely applied in clinical tests for GAstV infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viral Diseases of Livestock and Diagnostics)
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17 pages, 5296 KiB  
Article
Development and Implementation of a Quadruple RT-qPCR Method for the Identification of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Strains
by Shengnan Ruan, Wenhui Ren, Bin Yu, Xuexiang Yu, Hao Wu, Wentao Li, Yunbo Jiang and Qigai He
Viruses 2023, 15(9), 1946; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15091946 - 18 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1963
Abstract
Background: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) causes porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), leading to abortion in sows and respiratory distress in breeding pigs. In China, PRRSV1 and PRRSV2 are the two circulating genotypes in swine herds, with distinct virulence. PRRSV2 [...] Read more.
Background: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) causes porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), leading to abortion in sows and respiratory distress in breeding pigs. In China, PRRSV1 and PRRSV2 are the two circulating genotypes in swine herds, with distinct virulence. PRRSV2 further consists of classical (C-PRRSV2), highly pathogenic (HP-PRRSV2), and NADC30-Like (N-PRRSV2) subtypes. The diversity of PRRSV poses challenges for control and eradication, necessitating reliable detection assays for differentiating PRRSV genotypes. Methods: A new TaqMan-based RT-qPCR assay with four sets of primers and probes targeting conserved regions of the ORF7 and NSP2 genes of PRRSV was developed, optimized, and evaluated by us. Reaction conditions such as annealing temperature, primer concentration, and probe concentration were optimized for the assay. Specificity, sensitivity, repeatability, stability, limit of detection (LOD), concordance with the reference method were evaluated for the assay. Results: The assay could detect and type PRRSV1, C-PRRSV2, HP-PRRSV2, and N-PRRSV2 simultaneously with 97.33% specificity, 96.00% sensitivity, 12 copies/μL LOD, 97.00% concordance with reference assays. We applied the assay to 321 clinical samples from swine farms in China. The assay successfully detected and typed 230 PRRSV-positive samples, with 24.78% (57/230) of them further confirmed by ORF5 gene sequencing. The prevalence of PRRSV subtypes among the positive samples was as follows: C-PRRSV2 (15.22%), HP-PRRSV2 (23.48%), and N-PRRSV2 (61.30%). Two samples showed coinfection with different PRRSV subtypes. Conclusion: The quadruple RT-qPCR assay is a powerful tool for detecting and typing the currently circulating PRRSV strains in Chinese swine populations. It can assist in the surveillance of PRRSV prevalence and the implementation of prevention and control strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viral Diseases of Livestock and Diagnostics)
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16 pages, 1628 KiB  
Article
Quadruplex Real-Time TaqMan® RT-qPCR Assay for Differentiation of Equine Group A and B Rotaviruses and Identification of Group A G3 and G14 Genotypes
by Mariano Carossino, Udeni B. R. Balasuriya, Côme J. Thieulent, Maria E. Barrandeguy, Maria Aldana Vissani and Viviana Parreño
Viruses 2023, 15(8), 1626; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15081626 - 26 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1761
Abstract
Equine rotavirus A (ERVA) is the leading cause of diarrhea in foals, with G3P[12] and G14P[12] genotypes being the most prevalent. Recently, equine G3-like RVA was recognized as an emerging infection in children, and a group B equine rotavirus (ERVB) was identified as [...] Read more.
Equine rotavirus A (ERVA) is the leading cause of diarrhea in foals, with G3P[12] and G14P[12] genotypes being the most prevalent. Recently, equine G3-like RVA was recognized as an emerging infection in children, and a group B equine rotavirus (ERVB) was identified as an emergent cause of foal diarrhea in the US. Thus, there is a need to adapt molecular diagnostic tools for improved detection and surveillance to identify emerging strains, understand their molecular epidemiology, and inform future vaccine development. We developed a quadruplex TaqMan® RT-qPCR assay for differentiation of ERVA and ERVB and simultaneous G-typing of ERVA strains, evaluated its analytical and clinical performance, and compared it to (1) a previously established ERVA triplex RT-qPCR assay and (2) standard RT-PCR assay and Sanger sequencing of PCR products. This quadruplex RT-qPCR assay demonstrated high sensitivity (>90%)/specificity (100%) for every target and high overall agreement (>96%). Comparison between the triplex and quadruplex assays revealed only a slightly higher sensitivity for the ERVA NSP3 target using the triplex format (p-value 0.008) while no significant differences were detected for other targets. This quadruplex RT-qPCR assay will significantly enhance rapid surveillance of both ERVA and ERVB circulating and emerging strains with potential for interspecies transmission. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viral Diseases of Livestock and Diagnostics)
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Review

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17 pages, 333 KiB  
Review
Overview of Modern Commercial Kits for Laboratory Diagnosis of African Swine Fever and Swine Influenza A Viruses
by Larysa Muzykina, Lucía Barrado-Gil, Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes, Daniel Crespo-Piazuelo, Jose Joaquin Cerón, Covadonga Alonso and María Montoya
Viruses 2024, 16(4), 505; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040505 - 26 Mar 2024
Viewed by 2221
Abstract
Rapid and early detection of infectious diseases in pigs is important, especially for the implementation of control measures in suspected cases of African swine fever (ASF), as an effective and safe vaccine is not yet available in most of the affected countries. Additionally, [...] Read more.
Rapid and early detection of infectious diseases in pigs is important, especially for the implementation of control measures in suspected cases of African swine fever (ASF), as an effective and safe vaccine is not yet available in most of the affected countries. Additionally, analysis for swine influenza is of significance due to its high morbidity rate (up to 100%) despite a lower mortality rate compared to ASF. The wide distribution of swine influenza A virus (SwIAV) across various countries, the emergence of constantly new recombinant strains, and the danger of human infection underscore the need for rapid and accurate diagnosis. Several diagnostic approaches and commercial methods should be applied depending on the scenario, type of sample and the objective of the studies being implemented. At the early diagnosis of an outbreak, virus genome detection using a variety of PCR assays proves to be the most sensitive and specific technique. As the disease evolves, serology gains diagnostic value, as specific antibodies appear later in the course of the disease (after 7–10 days post-infection (DPI) for ASF and between 10–21 DPI for SwIAV). The ongoing development of commercial kits with enhanced sensitivity and specificity is evident. This review aims to analyse recent advances and current commercial kits utilised for the diagnosis of ASF and SwIAV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viral Diseases of Livestock and Diagnostics)

Other

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15 pages, 1268 KiB  
Brief Report
Genetic Characterization of Small Ruminant Lentiviruses Isolated from Dairy Sheep in Greece
by Aphrodite I. Kalogianni, Ilias Bouzalas, Sofia Marka, Maria-Eleftheria Zografaki, Sofia Mavrikou and Athanasios I. Gelasakis
Viruses 2024, 16(4), 547; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040547 - 31 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1264
Abstract
The high genetic heterogeneity of small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) renders the genetic characterization of the circulating strains crucial for the epidemiological investigation and the designation of effective diagnostic tools. In Greece, research data regarding the genetic diversity of the circulating SRLV strains is [...] Read more.
The high genetic heterogeneity of small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) renders the genetic characterization of the circulating strains crucial for the epidemiological investigation and the designation of effective diagnostic tools. In Greece, research data regarding the genetic diversity of the circulating SRLV strains is scarce, hindering the implementation of efficient surveillance and control programs. The objective of the study was to genetically characterize SRLV strains isolated from intensive dairy sheep farms in Greece and evaluate the variability of the immunodominant regions of the capsid protein. For this reason, a total of 12 SRLV-infected animals from four intensive dairy sheep farms with purebred Chios and Lacaune ewes were used for the amplification and sequencing of an 800 bp gag-pol fragment. The phylogenetic analyses revealed a breed-related circulation of strains; Chios ewes were infected with strains belonging exclusively to a separate group of genotype A, whereas strains belonging to subtype B2 were isolated from Lacaune ewes. Immunodominant epitopes of capsid protein were quite conserved among the strains of the same genotype, except for the Major Homology Region which showed some unique mutations with potential effects on viral evolution. The present study contributes to the extension of the current knowledge regarding the genetic diversity of SRLV strains circulating in sheep in Greece. However, broader genetic characterization studies are warranted for the exploration of possible recombinant events and the more comprehensive classification of the circulating strains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viral Diseases of Livestock and Diagnostics)
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9 pages, 2276 KiB  
Brief Report
Generation and Characterisation of Monoclonal Antibodies against Nairobi Sheep Disease Virus Nucleoprotein
by Emmanuel A. Maze, Tiphany Chrun, George Booth, Georgina Limon, Bryan Charleston and Teresa Lambe
Viruses 2023, 15(9), 1876; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15091876 - 5 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1647
Abstract
Nairobi sheep disease (NSD), caused by the viral agent NSD virus (NSDV), is a haemorrhagic fever disease affecting and inducing high mortality in sheep and goat populations. NSDV belongs to the genus Orthonairovirus of the Nairoviridae family from the order Bunyavirales. Other [...] Read more.
Nairobi sheep disease (NSD), caused by the viral agent NSD virus (NSDV), is a haemorrhagic fever disease affecting and inducing high mortality in sheep and goat populations. NSDV belongs to the genus Orthonairovirus of the Nairoviridae family from the order Bunyavirales. Other viruses circulating in livestock such as Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) and Dugbe virus (DUGV) are members of the same genus and are reported to share antigenic features. There are very few available materials to study NSDV infection both in vitro and in vivo. In the present work, we characterised two monoclonal antibodies generated in mice that recognise NSDV specifically but not CCHFV or DUGV, along with a potential use to define virus-infected cells, using flow cytometry. We believe this tool can be useful for research, but also NSDV diagnostics, especially through immunological staining. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viral Diseases of Livestock and Diagnostics)
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