Genetic characterization of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus strains isolated from cattle in Israel.

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), a member of the genus Orbivirus not reported previously in Israel, was isolated from Israeli cattle during a 'bluetongue-like' disease outbreak in 2006. To ascertain the origin of this new virus, three isolates from the outbreak were fully sequenced and compared with available sequences. Whilst the L2 gene segment clustered with the Australian EHDV serotype 7 (EHDV-7) reference strain, most of the other segments were clustered with EHDV isolates of African/Middle East origin, specifically Bahrain, Nigeria and South Africa.

The protective effectiveness of an inactivated bovine ephemeral fever virus vaccine.

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is an important viral disease of cattle. Despite the extensive use of inactivated vaccines for the prevention of BEF, a controlled study of their field effectiveness has never been performed. We conducted a large field effectiveness study of a BEF inactivated vaccine, during a large BEF outbreak.

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus induces and benefits from cell stress, autophagy, and apoptosis.

The mode and timing of virally induced cell death hold the potential of regulating viral yield, viral transmission, and the severity of virally induced disease. Orbiviruses such as the epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) are nonenveloped and cytolytic. To date, the death of cells infected with EHDV, the signal transduction pathways involved in this process, and the consequence of their inhibition have yet to be characterized.

Clinical syndromes associated with the circulation of multiple serotypes of bluetongue virus in dairy cattle in Israel.

From 2008 to 2011, seven distinct bluetongue virus (BTV) serotypes (BTV-2, BTV-4, BTV-5, BTV-8, BTV-15, BTV-16 and BTV-24) have been identified to be circulating in diseased sheep and cattle in Israel. This paper describes the array of clinical manifestations caused by BTV in cattle in Israel. Each set of clinical manifestations has been categorised as a syndrome and six distinct clinical syndromes have been observed in dairy cattle: 'footrot-like syndrome', 'sore nose syndrome', 'subcutaneous emphysema syndrome', 'red/rough udder syndrome', 'bluetongue/epizootic haemorrhagic disease systemic syndrome' and 'maladjustment syndrome'.

Epizootic heamorragic disease.

Epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) is an infectious non-contagious viral disease transmitted by insects of the genus Culicoides which affects wild and domestic ruminants. The causative agent, the epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), belongs to the family Reoviridae, genus Orbivirus and shares many morphological and structural characteristics with the other members of the genus such as bluetongue, African horse sickness and equine encephalosis viruses. In recent years EHD outbreaks have been reported in countries bordering the European Union.

Comparison of the epidemiology of epizootic haemorrhagic disease and bluetongue viruses in dairy cattle in Israel.

An outbreak of epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) in cattle in Israel in 2006 enabled a comparison of the spatial distribution of epidemic exposure to EHDV with that of exposure to bluetongue virus (BTV), which is endemic in the country. The seroprevalence of both viruses was examined in 1650 serum samples collected from 139 farms representative of the spatial distribution of dairy cattle in Israel. A significant association between exposure to EHDV and BTV was demonstrated in both univariate and multivariate analyses.

No evidence for involvement of sheep in the epidemiology of cattle virulent epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus.

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) is an Orbivirus. While not previously considered as an important disease in cattle, several EHDV serotypes (EHDV-6 and 7) have recently been implicated in disease outbreaks. The involvement of sheep in the epidemiology of EHDV is still not understood.

RT-PCR assays for seven serotypes of epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus & their use to type strains from the Mediterranean region and North America.

Epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) infects wild ruminants, causing a frequently fatal haemorrhagic disease. However, it can also cause bluetongue-like disease in cattle, involving significant levels of morbidity and mortality, highlighting a need for more rapid and reliable diagnostic assays. EHDV outer-capsid protein VP2 (encoded by genome-segment 2 [Seg-2]) is highly variable and represents the primary target for neutralising antibodies generated by the mammalian host.

Epidemiological investigation of bovine ephemeral Fever outbreaks in Israel.

Outbreaks of bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) occurred in Israel in 1990, 1999, and 2004. The main patterns of BEF spread were similar in the 1990 and in 1999 epidemics, and the BEF virus was probably carried in vectors transported by air streams across the Rift Valley and the Red Sea. In the 2004 outbreak, the primary focus of the disease was the southern Mediterranean coastal plain and the disease agent was apparently brought by infected mosquitoes carried from their breeding site in the Nile Delta by the south-western winds.

Multiple invasions of O1 FMDV serotype into Israel revealed by genetic analysis of VP1 genes of Israeli's isolates from 1989 to 2007.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), one of the most dangerous viruses affecting cloven-hoofed animals, comprises seven serotypes that do not mutually cross-protect, with a total of about 80 subtypes. The Middle East is an FMD-endemic region, with repeated FMD outbreaks and In spite of its compulsory vaccination policy in Israel, outbreaks occur repeatedly. In order to compare the Israeli isolates, the complete viral VP1 genes of representative viruses isolated during the major outbreaks from 1989 to 2007 were sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis, which showed that each outbreak was initiated by introduction of a new virus lineage and not by endemic and resident viruses.

Description of the first acute bovine diarrhea virus-2 outbreak in Israel.

This is the first report of an acute and fatal outbreak of bovine diarrhea virus (BVDV)-2 infection in Israel. The clinical presentation varied with the age of the affected animals with a bovine-respiratory-complex-like syndrome in young stock, and diarrhea and dysentery only in the lactating stock. Enteritis first appeared in one shed of post-parturient cows; it spread for 6 weeks, until at least 30% of the lactating stock contracted enteritis or dysentery.

Description of the pathology of a gazelle that died during a major outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Israel.

Naturally occurring foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in wildlife is a relatively mild condition but occasionally it can be devastating as has been documented in impala in South Africa and in mountain gazelles in Israel. This report describes pathological changes in an adult male gazelle with FMD from an outbreak in the Nature Reserve of Ramot-Issachar region and the lower Galilee in Israel. The outbreak was characterised by the malignant form of the disease, which is uncommon among domestic animals.

Options for decentralized testing of suspected secondary outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease.

This article reviews the options for use of virus detection techniques for decentralized testing of samples from suspected secondary outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). These options have been expanded by the advent of new tests including disposable lateral flow devices (LFDs) that detect viral proteins and portable RT-PCR equipment that detects viral RNA. LFDs have been developed with similar sensitivity to antigen detection ELISA but with the ability to provide a result 1-30 min after the addition of epithelium or vesicular fluid.

Temporospatial clustering of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in Israel and Palestine, 2006-2007.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic to the Middle East and there is a perception that political instability and limited resources have led to the uncontrolled circulation of FMD virus throughout the region. Certain aspects of FMD epidemiology in the Middle East remain unknown. The goal of this study was to identify the geographical location, temporal extent and direction of spread of clusters of 70 FMD outbreaks reported in Israel and Palestine from February 4, 2006, through July 15, 2007.

Appearance of skin lesions in cattle populations vaccinated against lumpy skin disease: statutory challenge.

The ultimate goal of a vaccine is to protect vaccinated animals against re-exposure to the same pathogen and provide sterile immunity. However, a cutaneous clinical manifestation appeared, following re-exposure of cattle that had been vaccinated with the RM65 strain, to LSDV infection during an epidemic in 2006-2007. Four thousand six hundred and seven vaccinated cows entered the study after being re-exposed to LSDV infection.

The use of lumpy skin disease virus genome termini for detection and phylogenetic analysis.

During 2006 and 2007 there were two outbreaks of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in Israel. An LSD virus (LSDV)-specific PCR assay was developed that can detected specifically LSDV even though the number of tested LSDV isolates were limited. Full-length sheep pox and LSDV genome sequences were aligned to find non-homologous regions, which were then used for preparing specific primers, whose specificity was tested against several LSDV DNA isolates and the system could detect all the different isolates.

The NSP immune response of vaccinated animals after in-field exposure to FMDV.

The aim was to examine the immune response (IR) to non-structural proteins (NSPs), in order to assess the validity of the detection of antibodies to NSPs as a means of diagnosing foot and mouth disease (FMD infection) infection when vaccinated populations are in close contact with clinically sick animals. The study was performed during FMD outbreaks in Israel in January 2004; the IR was examined in vaccinated dairy and feedlot cattle herds under natural field exposure to FMDV, and in vaccinated and unvaccinated sheep flocks. During the 2004 outbreaks, clinical signs were age-related and were noted only among imported calves, although they had been vaccinated; such signs were not found among the local dairy cattle populations.

Foot-and-mouth disease non-structural protein serology in cattle: use of a Bayesian framework to estimate diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of six ELISA tests and true prevalence in the field.

The diagnostic performance of six foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) assays for detection of antibodies to the non-structural proteins (NSP) of the FMD virus (FMDV) was estimated using a Bayesian analysis on field sera from cattle of unknown infection status originating from post-FMDV outbreak situations in Israel and Zimbabwe. Estimations of the disease prevalence in both populations were also obtained. The diagnostic sensitivity estimates did not differ between both field studies, although overall Bayesian estimates were markedly higher than those previously reported based on sera from comparable experimentally infected (vaccinated) cattle populations.

Comparative evaluation of six ELISAs for the detection of antibodies to the non-structural proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

To validate the use of serology in substantiating freedom from infection after foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks have been controlled by measures that include vaccination, 3551 sera were tested with six assays that detect antibodies to the non-structural proteins of FMD virus. The sera came from naïve, vaccinated, infected and vaccinated-and-infected animals; two-thirds from cattle, the remainder from sheep and pigs. The assays were covariant for sensitivity, but not necessarily for specificity.

VP2-segment sequence analysis of some isolates of bluetongue virus recovered in the Mediterranean basin during the 1998-2003 outbreak.

The complete nucleotide sequences of the VP2 segments of bluetongue virus (BTV) isolates recovered from Italy, Greece and Israel, from 1998 to 2003, were determined. Phylogenetic analysis of these sequences, those from related viruses and the South African vaccine strains, were used to determine the probable geographic origin of BTV incursions into Italy. Results indicated that viruses from each of the four serotypes isolated in Italy (2, 4, 9 and 16) possibly had a different origin.

A real-time RT-quantative(q)PCR for the detection of bovine ephemeral fever virus.

A quantitative reverse-transcriptase real-time PCR assay, using TaqMan chemistry, for detecting bovine ephemeral virus (BEFV) is described. Available G gene sequences of viral RNA were aligned, and primers and probes were designed to recognize the virus. To quantitate the viruses, cDNA containing the real-time amplicon was prepared with a forward primer carrying the T7 promoter sequences.