An outbreak of equine influenza virus in vaccinated horses in Italy is due to an H3N8 strain closely related to recent North American representatives of the Florida sub-lineage.
Abstract: In December 2005, equine influenza virus infection was confirmed as the cause of clinical respiratory disease in vaccinated horses in Apulia, Italy. The infected horses had been vaccinated with a vaccine that contained strains representatives from both the European (A/eq/Suffolk/89) and American (A/eq/Newmarket/1/93) H3N8 influenza virus lineages, and the H7N7 strain A/eq/Praga/56. Genetic characterization of the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of the virus from the outbreak, indicated that the isolate (A/eq/Bari/2005) was an H3N8 strain closely related to recent representatives (Kentucky/5/02-like) of the American sub-lineage Florida, that was introduced in Italy through movement of infected horses from a large outbreak described in 2003 in United Kingdom. Strain A/eq/Bari/2005 displayed 9 amino acid changes in the HA1 subunit protein with respect to the reference American strain A/eq/Newmarket/1/93 contained in the vaccine. Four changes were localized in the antigenic regions C-D and likely accounted for the vaccine failure.
Publication Date: 2006-11-25 PubMed ID: 17197135DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2006.11.017Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This study examines the cause of an outbreak of influenza in vaccinated horses in Italy, discovering that it was due to a strain of virus closely related to recent North American variants of the Florida sub-lineage, notably different from the strains included in the vaccine.
Context and Purpose
- The research was carried out in response to an outbreak of equine influenza amongst vaccinated horses in Apulia, Italy in December 2005. The primary aim of the research was to identify the specific strain of equine influenza virus causing the outbreak and to investigate its origins and reasons for vaccine failure.
Methods
- The researchers conducted genetic testing on the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of the virus found in these horses.
- This helped them to ascertain the virus strain responsible for the outbreak, identified as (A/eq/Bari/2005).
Findings
- The A/eq/Bari/2005 strain was determined to be of the H3N8 type, similar to recent representatives (Kentucky/5/02-like) of the American sub-lineage Florida.
- These findings suggest that this American-origin strain had been introduced in Italy through the movement of infected horses from a significant outbreak reported in the United Kingdom in 2003.
Details on the Strain Difference and Vaccine Failure
- The A/eq/Bari/2005 strain exhibited nine amino acid differences in the HA1 subunit protein compared to the American strain A/eq/Newmarket/1/93 that was included in the vaccination.
- Four of these changes were found in the antigenic regions C-D of the virus. These changes likely impacted the vaccine’s ability to combat the disease, leading to the failure of vaccination to prevent the outbreak.
Cite This Article
APA
Martella V, Elia G, Decaro N, Di Trani L, Lorusso E, Campolo M, Desario C, Parisi A, Cavaliere N, Buonavoglia C.
(2006).
An outbreak of equine influenza virus in vaccinated horses in Italy is due to an H3N8 strain closely related to recent North American representatives of the Florida sub-lineage.
Vet Microbiol, 121(1-2), 56-63.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2006.11.017 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal Health and Well-being, University of Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy. v.martella@veterinaria.uniba.it
MeSH Terms
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Base Sequence
- DNA, Viral / chemistry
- DNA, Viral / genetics
- Disease Outbreaks / veterinary
- Hemagglutinins / chemistry
- Hemagglutinins / genetics
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses
- Influenza A Virus, H3N8 Subtype / genetics
- Influenza A Virus, H3N8 Subtype / growth & development
- Italy / epidemiology
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Neuraminidase / chemistry
- Neuraminidase / genetics
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / epidemiology
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / veterinary
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / virology
- Phylogeny
- Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
- Respiratory Tract Diseases / epidemiology
- Respiratory Tract Diseases / veterinary
- Respiratory Tract Diseases / virology
- Sequence Alignment
- Vaccination / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 16 times.- Pellegrini F, Buonavoglia A, Omar AH, Diakoudi G, Lucente MS, Odigie AE, Sposato A, Augelli R, Camero M, Decaro N, Elia G, Bányai K, Martella V, Lanave G. A Cold Case of Equine Influenza Disentangled with Nanopore Sequencing.. Animals (Basel) 2023 Mar 24;13(7).
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- Pusterla N, James K, Barnum S, Bain F, Barnett DC, Chappell D, Gaughan E, Craig B, Schneider C, Vaala W. Frequency of Detection and Prevalence Factors Associated with Common Respiratory Pathogens in Equids with Acute Onset of Fever and/or Respiratory Signs (2008-2021).. Pathogens 2022 Jul 2;11(7).
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