Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
Central Veterinary Laboratory of Kinshasa, Kinshasa I/Gombe 012, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Viruses. 2021 Jan 20;13(2):151. doi: 10.3390/v13020151.
Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly transmissible and devastating disease that affects poultry and wild birds worldwide. Comprehensive knowledge regarding the characteristics and epidemiological factors of the ND virus (NDV) is critical for the control and prevention of ND. Effective vaccinations can prevent and control the spread of the NDV in poultry populations. For decades, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported the impacts of ND on commercial and traditional poultry farming systems. The reports were preliminary clinical observations, and few cases were confirmed in the laboratory. However, data on the phylogenetic, genetic, and virological characteristics of NDVs circulating in the DRC are not available. In this study, the whole-genome sequences of three NDV isolates obtained using the next-generation sequencing method revealed two isolates that were a new variant of NDV, and one isolate that was clustered in the subgenotype VII.2. All DRC isolates were velogenic and were antigenically closely related to the vaccine strains. Our findings reveal that despite the circulation of the new variant, ND can be controlled in the DRC using the current vaccine. However, epidemiological studies should be conducted to elucidate the endemicity of the disease so that better control strategies can be implemented.
新城疫（ND）是一种高度传染性和毁灭性的疾病，影响全球的家禽和野生鸟类。全面了解 ND 病毒（NDV）的特征和流行病学因素对于 ND 的控制和预防至关重要。有效的疫苗接种可以预防和控制家禽群体中 NDV 的传播。几十年来，刚果民主共和国（DRC）一直在报告 ND 对商业和传统家禽养殖系统的影响。这些报告是初步的临床观察，实验室仅确认了少数病例。然而，关于在 DRC 循环的 NDV 的系统进化、遗传和病毒学特征的数据尚不可用。在这项研究中，使用下一代测序方法获得的三个 NDV 分离株的全基因组序列揭示了两个分离株是 NDV 的新变体，一个分离株聚类在亚基因型 VII.2 中。所有 DRC 分离株均为强毒力，且在抗原性上与疫苗株密切相关。我们的研究结果表明，尽管存在新变体的流行，但 DRC 可以使用当前疫苗来控制 ND。然而，应进行流行病学研究以阐明该疾病的地方性，以便实施更好的控制策略。
