Analyze Diet
BMC veterinary research2016; 12; 98; doi: 10.1186/s12917-016-0741-5

A 2015 outbreak of Getah virus infection occurring among Japanese racehorses sequentially to an outbreak in 2014 at the same site.

Abstract: As we reported previously, Getah virus infection occurred in horses at the Miho training center of the Japan Racing Association in 2014. This was the first outbreak after a 31-year absence in Japan. Here, we report a recurrent outbreak of Getah virus infection in 2015, sequential to the 2014 one at the same site, and we summarize its epizootiological aspects to estimate the risk of further outbreaks in upcoming years. Results: The outbreak occurred from mid-August to late October 2015, affecting 30 racehorses with a prevalence of 1.5% of the whole population (1992 horses). Twenty-seven (90.0%) of the 30 affected horses were 2-year-olds, and the prevalence in 2-year-olds (27/613 [4.4%]) was significantly higher than that in horses aged 3 years or older (3/1379 [0.2%], P < 0.01). Therefore, the horses newly introduced from other areas at this age were susceptible, whereas most horses aged 3 years or older, which had experienced the previous outbreak in 2014, were resistant. Among the 2-year-olds, the prevalence in horses that had been vaccinated once (10/45 [22.2%]) was significantly higher than that in horses vaccinated twice or more (17/568 [3.0 %], P < 0.01). Horse anti-sera raised against an isolate in 2014 neutralized both the homologous strain and a 2015 isolate at almost the same titers (256 to 512), suggesting that these viruses were antigenically similar. Among horses entering the training center from private surrounding farms in 2015, the seropositivity rate to Getah virus increased gradually (11.8% in August, 21.7% in September, and 34.9% in October). Thus, increased virus exposure due to the regional epizootic probably allowed the virus to spread in the center, similarly to the outbreak in 2014. Conclusions: The 2015 outbreak was caused by a virus which was antigenically close to the 2014 isolate, affecting mostly 2-year-old susceptible horses under epizootiological circumstances similar to those in 2014. The existence of 2-year-olds introduced from regions free from Getah virus could continue to pose a potential risk of additional outbreaks in upcoming years. Vaccination on private farms and breeding farms would help to minimize the risk of outbreaks.
Publication Date: 2016-06-10 PubMed ID: 27286658PubMed Central: PMC4902926DOI: 10.1186/s12917-016-0741-5Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research looks into the recurrence of Getah virus infection among Japanese racehorses at the Miho training center. It studies the 2015 outbreak, which followed a previous one in 2014, and assesses the risk of future outbreaks.

Study Context

  • The research focuses on a recurrence of the Getah virus infection that hit the Miho training center in Japan in 2015. This outbreak came right after another outbreak the previous year, 2014, at the same racehorse training center. This was notable as it marked the end of a 31-year period without any outbreaks of this virus in Japan.

Study Findings

  • The 2015 outbreak occurred from mid-August to late October. It affected 30 racehorses, which represents a prevalence of 1.5% of the entire population of 1,992 horses at the center.
  • Most affected horses were 2-years-old (90%) and their prevalence rate was significantly higher than that of horses aged 3 years or older (4.4% vs 0.2%, respectively).
  • Hence, it was concluded that newly introduced 2-year-old horses were more susceptible to the virus whereas most horses aged 3 years or older, likely having been exposed to the 2014 outbreak, were resistant.
  • Furthermore, among the 2-year-olds, the prevalence of Getah virus in horses vaccinated once was significantly higher than in horses vaccinated two or more times (22.2% vs 3.0%).
  • Importantly, the 2014 and 2015 viruses were antigenically similar. This was confirmed by the horse anti-sera raised against an isolate in 2014 which neutralized both the homologous strain and a 2015 isolate at almost same titers.
  • Throughout 2015, the rate of horses entering the training center from private surrounding farms already presenting seropositivity to the Getah virus increased gradually each month (11.8% in August, 21.7% in September, and 34.9% in October).
  • The researchers believe the increase in virus exposure due to a regional epidemic allowed the virus to spread in the training center, similarly to the 2014 outbreak.

Study Conclusions

  • The recurrence of the Getah virus outbreak in 2015 resulted from a virus strain that was antigenically similar to the one that caused the outbreak in 2014. Younger, 2-year old horses were identified as particularly susceptible, especially under the same epizootiological circumstances as those that prevailed in 2014 during the first outbreak.
  • The study concluded that the continued introduction of 2-year olds from regions free from the Getah virus could pose a potential risk of additional outbreaks in future years.
  • Finally, the research recommends that vaccination on private farms and breeding farms could help to reduce the risk of future outbreaks of the virus.

Cite This Article

APA
Bannai H, Ochi A, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T. (2016). A 2015 outbreak of Getah virus infection occurring among Japanese racehorses sequentially to an outbreak in 2014 at the same site. BMC Vet Res, 12, 98. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-016-0741-5

Publication

ISSN: 1746-6148
NlmUniqueID: 101249759
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 12
Pages: 98
PII: 98

Researcher Affiliations

Bannai, Hiroshi
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan. bannai@equinst.go.jp.
Ochi, Akihiro
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan.
Nemoto, Manabu
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan.
Tsujimura, Koji
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan.
Yamanaka, Takashi
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan.
Kondo, Takashi
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan.

MeSH Terms

  • Alphavirus / isolation & purification
  • Alphavirus Infections / epidemiology
  • Alphavirus Infections / veterinary
  • Animals
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Disease Outbreaks / veterinary
  • Disease Susceptibility / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horse Diseases / virology
  • Horses
  • Risk Factors
  • Vero Cells
  • Viral Vaccines / administration & dosage

References

This article includes 11 references
  1. Fukunaga Y, Kumanomido T, Kamada M. Getah virus as an equine pathogen.. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 2000 Dec;16(3):605-17.
    pubmed: 11219353doi: 10.1016/s0749-0739(17)30099-8google scholar: lookup
  2. Izumida A, Takuma H, Inagaki S, Kubota M, Hirahara T, Kodama K, Sasaki N. Experimental infection of Getah virus in swine.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1988 Jun;50(3):679-84.
    doi: 10.1292/jvms1939.50.679pubmed: 3210480google scholar: lookup
  3. Yago K, Hagiwara S, Kawamura H, Narita M. A fatal case in newborn piglets with Getah virus infection: isolation of the virus.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1987 Dec;49(6):989-94.
    doi: 10.1292/jvms1939.49.989pubmed: 2828741google scholar: lookup
  4. Nemoto M, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Kobayashi M, Kikuchi T, Yamanaka T, Kondo T. Getah Virus Infection among Racehorses, Japan, 2014.. Emerg Infect Dis 2015 May;21(5):883-5.
    doi: 10.3201/eid2105.141975pmc: PMC4412242pubmed: 25898181google scholar: lookup
  5. Sentsui H, Kono Y. Reappearance of Getah virus infection among horses in Japan.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1985 Apr;47(2):333-5.
    doi: 10.1292/jvms1939.47.333pubmed: 2989599google scholar: lookup
  6. Bannai H, Nemoto M, Ochi A, Kikuchi T, Kobayashi M, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T. Epizootiological Investigation of Getah Virus Infection among Racehorses in Japan in 2014.. J Clin Microbiol 2015 Jul;53(7):2286-91.
    doi: 10.1128/JCM.00550-15pmc: PMC4473224pubmed: 25972425google scholar: lookup
  7. Wekesa SN, Inoshima Y, Murakami K, Sentsui H. Genomic analysis of some Japanese isolates of Getah virus.. Vet Microbiol 2001 Nov 8;83(2):137-46.
    doi: 10.1016/S0378-1135(01)00417-5pubmed: 11557154google scholar: lookup
  8. Nemoto M, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T. Genomic, pathogenic, and antigenic comparisons of Getah virus strains isolated in 1978 and 2014 in Japan.. Arch Virol 2016 Jun;161(6):1691-5.
    pubmed: 27016932doi: 10.1007/s00705-016-2840-9google scholar: lookup
  9. Kumanomido T, Fukunaga Y, Ando Y, Kamada M, Imagawa H, Wada R, Akiyama Y, Tanaka Y, Kobayashi M, Ogura N. Getah virus isolations from mosquitoes in an enzootic area in Japan.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1986 Dec;48(6):1135-40.
    doi: 10.1292/jvms1939.48.1135pubmed: 2881020google scholar: lookup
  10. Lastarza MW, Grakoui A, Rice CM. Deletion and duplication mutations in the C-terminal nonconserved region of Sindbis virus nsP3: effects on phosphorylation and on virus replication in vertebrate and invertebrate cells.. Virology 1994 Jul;202(1):224-32.
    doi: 10.1006/viro.1994.1338pubmed: 7912020google scholar: lookup
  11. Saxton-Shaw KD, Ledermann JP, Borland EM, Stovall JL, Mossel EC, Singh AJ, Wilusz J, Powers AM. O'nyong nyong virus molecular determinants of unique vector specificity reside in non-structural protein 3.. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2013;7(1):e1931.

Citations

This article has been cited 18 times.
  1. Ochi A, Bannai H, Aonuma H, Kanuka H, Uchida-Fujii E, Kinoshita Y, Ohta M, Kambayashi Y, Tsujimura K, Ueno T, Nemoto M. Surveillance of Getah virus in mosquitoes and racehorses from 2016 to 2019 at a training center in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, a site of several previous Getah virus outbreaks.. Arch Virol 2023 Jan 7;168(2):35.
    doi: 10.1007/s00705-022-05631-3pubmed: 36609628google scholar: lookup
  2. Takeishi M, Kuwata R, Ono T, Sasaki A, Ogata M, Iwata E, Taji S, Koike M, Nemoto M, Bannai H, Isawa H, Maeda K, Morikawa S, Kitagawa H, Yoshikawa Y. Seroconversion of anti-Getah virus antibody among Japanese native Noma horses around 2012.. J Vet Med Sci 2022 Nov 18;84(12):1605-1609.
    doi: 10.1292/jvms.22-0306pubmed: 36310045google scholar: lookup
  3. Sun Q, Xie Y, Guan Z, Zhang Y, Li Y, Yang Y, Zhang J, Li Z, Qiu Y, Li B, Liu K, Shao D, Wang J, Ma Z, Wei J, Li P. Seroprevalence of Getah virus in Pigs in Eastern China Determined with a Recombinant E2 Protein-Based Indirect ELISA.. Viruses 2022 Sep 30;14(10).
    doi: 10.3390/v14102173pubmed: 36298726google scholar: lookup
  4. Yuen KY, Henning J, Eng MD, Wang ASW, Lenz MF, Caldwell KM, Coyle MP, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H. Epidemiological Study of Multiple Zoonotic Mosquito-Borne Alphaviruses in Horses in Queensland, Australia (2018-2020).. Viruses 2022 Aug 23;14(9).
    doi: 10.3390/v14091846pubmed: 36146651google scholar: lookup
  5. Li B, Wang H, Liang G. Getah Virus (Alphavirus): An Emerging, Spreading Zoonotic Virus.. Pathogens 2022 Aug 20;11(8).
    doi: 10.3390/pathogens11080945pubmed: 36015065google scholar: lookup
  6. Mohamed-Romai-Noor NA, Sam SS, Teoh BT, Hamim ZR, AbuBakar S. Genomic and In Vitro Phenotypic Comparisons of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Getah Virus Strains.. Viruses 2022 Apr 30;14(5).
    doi: 10.3390/v14050942pubmed: 35632684google scholar: lookup
  7. Ren T, Min X, Mo Q, Wang Y, Wang H, Chen Y, Ouyang K, Huang W, Wei Z. Construction and characterization of a full-length infectious clone of Getah virus in vivo.. Virol Sin 2022 Jun;37(3):348-357.
    doi: 10.1016/j.virs.2022.03.007pubmed: 35288349google scholar: lookup
  8. Yuen KY, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H. Ross River Virus Infection: A Cross-Disciplinary Review with a Veterinary Perspective.. Pathogens 2021 Mar 17;10(3).
    doi: 10.3390/pathogens10030357pubmed: 33802851google scholar: lookup
  9. Fang Y, Zhang W, Xue JB, Zhang Y. Monitoring Mosquito-Borne Arbovirus in Various Insect Regions in China in 2018.. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021;11:640993.
    doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.640993pubmed: 33791242google scholar: lookup
  10. Ren T, Mo Q, Wang Y, Wang H, Nong Z, Wang J, Niu C, Liu C, Chen Y, Ouyang K, Huang W, Wei Z. Emergence and Phylogenetic Analysis of a Getah Virus Isolated in Southern China.. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:552517.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.552517pubmed: 33344520google scholar: lookup
  11. Rawle DJ, Nguyen W, Dumenil T, Parry R, Warrilow D, Tang B, Le TT, Slonchak A, Khromykh AA, Lutzky VP, Yan K, Suhrbier A. Sequencing of Historical Isolates, K-mer Mining and High Serological Cross-Reactivity with Ross River Virus Argue against the Presence of Getah Virus in Australia.. Pathogens 2020 Oct 16;9(10).
    doi: 10.3390/pathogens9100848pubmed: 33081269google scholar: lookup
  12. Nguyen W, Nakayama E, Yan K, Tang B, Le TT, Liu L, Cooper TH, Hayball JD, Faddy HM, Warrilow D, Allcock RJN, Hobson-Peters J, Hall RA, Rawle DJ, Lutzky VP, Young P, Oliveira NM, Hartel G, Howley PM, Prow NA, Suhrbier A. Arthritogenic Alphavirus Vaccines: Serogrouping Versus Cross-Protection in Mouse Models.. Vaccines (Basel) 2020 May 5;8(2).
    doi: 10.3390/vaccines8020209pubmed: 32380760google scholar: lookup
  13. Yanase T, Murota K, Hayama Y. Endemic and Emerging Arboviruses in Domestic Ruminants in East Asia.. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:168.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00168pubmed: 32318588google scholar: lookup
  14. Liu H, Zhang X, Li LX, Shi N, Sun XT, Liu Q, Jin NY, Si XK. First isolation and characterization of Getah virus from cattle in northeastern China.. BMC Vet Res 2019 Sep 5;15(1):320.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-019-2061-zpubmed: 31488162google scholar: lookup
  15. Lu G, Ou J, Ji J, Ren Z, Hu X, Wang C, Li S. Emergence of Getah Virus Infection in Horse With Fever in China, 2018.. Front Microbiol 2019;10:1416.
    doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01416pubmed: 31281304google scholar: lookup
  16. Sam SS, Teoh BT, Chee CM, Mohamed-Romai-Noor NA, Abd-Jamil J, Loong SK, Khor CS, Tan KK, AbuBakar S. A quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for detection of Getah virus.. Sci Rep 2018 Dec 5;8(1):17632.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36043-6pubmed: 30518924google scholar: lookup
  17. Nemoto M, Bannai H, Ochi A, Niwa H, Murakami S, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kokado H, Kondo T. Complete Genome Sequences of Getah Virus Strains Isolated from Horses in 2016 in Japan.. Genome Announc 2017 Aug 3;5(31).
    doi: 10.1128/genomeA.00750-17pubmed: 28774985google scholar: lookup
  18. Bannai H, Nemoto M, Niwa H, Murakami S, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T. Geospatial and temporal associations of Getah virus circulation among pigs and horses around the perimeter of outbreaks in Japanese racehorses in 2014 and 2015.. BMC Vet Res 2017 Jun 19;13(1):187.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-017-1112-6pubmed: 28629406google scholar: lookup