Abortions in dromedaries (Camelus dromedarius) caused by equine rhinitis A virus.
Abstract: A virus was isolated from aborted dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) fetuses during an abortion storm in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Laboratory investigations showed the causative agent to be indistinguishable from equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV), a picornavirus. Two pregnant dromedaries experimentally infected with the camel virus isolate both aborted and an identical virus was reisolated from both fetuses, thus confirming the diagnosis. The extremely high prevalence of antibody (>90 %) and the high titres recorded against ERAV in the dromedary herd clearly showed that ERAV does infect dromedaries. Unlike horses, where ERAV targets the upper respiratory tract, in dromedaries the target organ appears to be the genital tract.
Publication Date: 2008-02-15 PubMed ID: 18272756DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.82215-0Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article discusses a study on abortions in dromedaries (a type of camel) caused by the equine rhinitis A virus. The study highlights how the virus affects dromedaries uniquely by targeting their genital tracts fairly more than their respiratory tract, unlike in horses.
Virus Isolation and Identification
- The virus responsible for a series of abortions in dromedaries was isolated from the fetuses during an abortion wave in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Laboratory tests identified the virus as a type of Equine Rhinitis A Virus (ERAV), a picornavirus.
Experimental Infections
- The research involved experimentally infecting two pregnant dromedaries with the isolated virus to study its effects. After these dromedaries experienced abortions, the same virus was reisolated from the aborted fetuses, linking the virus to the cause of abortions.
ERAV Prevalence
- The study revealed a very high prevalence of ERAV antibodies in the camel herd, exceeding 90%. The high titers against ERAV suggest that this virus does infect dromedaries quite frequently.
Target Organ Differences
- The research made an intriguing observation about the targeted organs of the virus in different species. Unlike horses, where the ERAV typically infects the upper respiratory tract, in dromedaries, the virus seems to demonstrate a propensity for the genital tract.
This study thus deepens our understanding of the behavior of the equine rhinitis A virus in differing hosts and could lead to better prevention and treatment strategies against the abortions it can potentially induce in dromedaries.
Cite This Article
APA
Wernery U, Knowles NJ, Hamblin C, Wernery R, Joseph S, Kinne J, Nagy P.
(2008).
Abortions in dromedaries (Camelus dromedarius) caused by equine rhinitis A virus.
J Gen Virol, 89(Pt 3), 660-666.
https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.82215-0 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, PO Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
- Institute for Animal Health (IAH), Pirbright Laboratory, Ash Road, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey GU24 0NF, UK.
- Institute for Animal Health (IAH), Pirbright Laboratory, Ash Road, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey GU24 0NF, UK.
- Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, PO Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
- Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, PO Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
- Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, PO Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
- Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, PO Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
MeSH Terms
- Abortion, Veterinary / epidemiology
- Abortion, Veterinary / virology
- Animals
- Aphthovirus / classification
- Aphthovirus / genetics
- Aphthovirus / isolation & purification
- Aphthovirus / pathogenicity
- Base Sequence
- Camelus / virology
- Disease Outbreaks
- Female
- Fetus / virology
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Phylogeny
- Picornaviridae Infections / epidemiology
- Picornaviridae Infections / veterinary
- Picornaviridae Infections / virology
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / veterinary
- Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / virology
- Sequence Analysis, DNA
Citations
This article has been cited 7 times.- Teng JLL, Wernery U, Lee HH, Fung J, Joseph S, Li KSM, Elizabeth SK, Fong JYH, Chan KH, Chen H, Lau SKP, Woo PCY. Co-circulation of a Novel Dromedary Camel Parainfluenza Virus 3 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in a Dromedary Herd With Respiratory Tract Infections. Front Microbiol 2021;12:739779.
- Li Y, Khalafalla AI, Paden CR, Yusof MF, Eltahir YM, Al Hammadi ZM, Tao Y, Queen K, Hosani FA, Gerber SI, Hall AJ, Al Muhairi S, Tong S. Identification of diverse viruses in upper respiratory samples in dromedary camels from United Arab Emirates. PLoS One 2017;12(9):e0184718.
- Khalafalla AI, Al Eknah MM, Abdelaziz M, Ghoneim IM. A study on some reproductive disorders in dromedary camel herds in Saudi Arabia with special references to uterine infections and abortion. Trop Anim Health Prod 2017 Jun;49(5):967-974.
- van der Woning B, De Boeck G, Blanchetot C, Bobkov V, Klarenbeek A, Saunders M, Waelbroeck M, Laeremans T, Steyaert J, Hultberg A, De Haard H. DNA immunization combined with scFv phage display identifies antagonistic GCGR specific antibodies and reveals new epitopes on the small extracellular loops. MAbs 2016 Aug-Sep;8(6):1126-35.
- Woo PC, Lau SK, Teng JL, Tsang AK, Joseph M, Wong EY, Tang Y, Sivakumar S, Bai R, Wernery R, Wernery U, Yuen KY. Metagenomic analysis of viromes of dromedary camel fecal samples reveals large number and high diversity of circoviruses and picobirnaviruses. Virology 2014 Dec;471-473:117-25.
- Logan G, Freimanis GL, King DJ, Valdazo-González B, Bachanek-Bankowska K, Sanderson ND, Knowles NJ, King DP, Cottam EM. A universal protocol to generate consensus level genome sequences for foot-and-mouth disease virus and other positive-sense polyadenylated RNA viruses using the Illumina MiSeq. BMC Genomics 2014 Sep 30;15(1):828.
- Woo PC, Lau SK, Wernery U, Wong EY, Tsang AK, Johnson B, Yip CC, Lau CC, Sivakumar S, Cai JP, Fan RY, Chan KH, Mareena R, Yuen KY. Novel betacoronavirus in dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013. Emerg Infect Dis 2014 Apr;20(4):560-72.
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