Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most deadly diseases of poultry around the globe. The disease is endemic in Pakistan and recurrent outbreaks are being reported regularly in wild captive, rural and commercial poultry flocks. Though, efforts have been made to characterize the causative agent in some of parts of the country, the genetic nature of strains circulating throughout Pakistan is currently lacking. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To ascertain the genetics of NDV, 452 blood samples were collected from 113 flocks, originating from all the provinces of Pakistan, showing high mortality (30-80%). The samples represented domesticated poultry (broiler, layer and rural) as well as wild captive birds (pigeons, turkeys, pheasants and peacock). Samples were screened with real-time PCR for both matrix and fusion genes (1792 bp), positive samples were subjected to amplification of full fusion gene and subsequent sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. RESULTS: The deduced amino acid sequence of the fusion protein cleavage site indicated the presence of motif (112RK/RQRR↓F117) typical for velogenic strains of NDV. Phylogenetic analysis of hypervariable region of the fusion gene indicated that all the isolates belong to lineage 5 of NDV except isolates collected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. A higher resolution of the phylogenetic analysis of lineage 5 showed the distribution of Pakistani NDV strains to 5b. However, the isolates from KPK belonged to lineage 4c; the first report of such lineage from this province. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, data indicated the prevalence of multiple lineages of NDV in different poultry population including wild captive birds. Such understanding is crucial to underpin the nature of circulating strains of NDV, their potential for interspecies transmission and disease diagnosis and control strategies.
Source: Virology Journal
Authors: Muhammad Zubair Shabbir, Siamak Zohari, Tahir Yaqub, Jawad Nazir, Muhammad Abu Bakr Shabbir, Nadia Mukhtar, Muhammad Shafee, Muhammad Sajid, Muhammad Anees, Muhammad Abbas, Muhammad Tanveer Khan, Asad Amanat Ali, Aamir Ghafoor, Abdul Ahad, Aijaz Ali Channa, Aftab Ahmad Anjum, Nazeer Hussain, Arfan Ahmad, Mohsan Ullah Goraya, Zahid Iqbal, Sohail Ahmad Khan, Hassan bin Aslam, Kiran Zehra, Muhammad Umer Sohail, Waseem Yaqub, Nisar Ahmad, Mikael Berg, Muhammad Munir
Institutions: University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Swedish Veterinary Agency, University of Balochistan, Government of Punjab, University of Bergen, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Government College University, Lahore, Government College University, Faisalabad, The Pirbright Institute
Language: English
Topic: Virology and Viral Diseases
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,290
OpenAlex ID: W2107935667