African Horse Sickness Virus Serotype 1 on Horse Farm, Thailand, 2020.

The research investigates the outbreak of African Horse Sickness in a horse farm in Thailand in 2020 through whole-genome sequencing of the virus, with distinctive findings pointing to a single virus introduction.

Introduction

• African Horse Sickness (AHS) is a dangerous and highly infectious disease that affects horses. An outbreak occurred on a horse farm in northeastern Thailand in 2020.
• To investigate the outbreak, the researchers used whole-genome sequencing – a process that involves the determining of the complete DNA sequence of an organism’s genome at a single time.

Virus Detection and Characterization

• Through whole-genome sequencing, the researchers detected and characterized the virus responsible for the outbreak.
• The viruses identified belonged to serotype 1 of African Horse Sickness Virus (AHSV). A serotype refers to distinct variations within a species of bacteria or virus.

Unique Amino Acids

• The identified viruses contained unique amino acids 95V, 166S, and 660I in virus capsid protein 2.
• The capsid protein 2 is the protein shell of a virus that encloses its genetic material. These unique amino acid sequences can give insights into the virus behavior or origin.

Single Virus Introduction

• The presence of these unique amino acids suggests a single virus introduction to Thailand.
• This means that the outbreak possibly originated from a single source or event, where the virus was introduced to the horse population in Thailand.