title: Molecular characterisation of Newcastle disease virus isolates from different geographical regions in Mozambique in 2005.
abstract: Newcastle disease (ND) is regarded as a highly contagious and economically important disease in poultry and has a worldwide distribution. Viral determinants for Newcastle disease virus  (NDV) virulence are not completely understood and viruses of different pathotypes can be found at live-bird markets in different geographical areas. The prevalence of Newcastle disease  in village poultry in Mozambique is not well documented and strains of NDV involved in yearly outbreaks are unknown. The fusion (F) protein is an important determinant of pathogenicity  of the virus and is used commonly for phylogenetic analysis. Newcastle disease viruses from various geographical regions of Mozambique were sequenced and compared genetically to  published sequences obtained from GenBank. Samples were collected in three different areas of Mozambique and NDV was isolated by infection of embryonated chicken eggs. Sequence  analysis of the F-protein encoding gene was used to classify 28 isolates from Mozambique into genotypes and compare these genotypes phylogenetically with existing genotypes found in  GenBank. The isolates obtained from Mozambique grouped mainly into two clades. In the first clade, 12 isolates grouped together with sequences of isolates representing genotypes from  Mozambique that were previously described. In the second clade, 16 isolates group together with sequences obtained from GenBank originating from Australia, China, South Africa  and the USA. Eleven of these isolates showed a high similarity with sequences from South Africa. The number of samples sequenced (n = 28), as well as the relatively small geographical  collection area used in this study, are too small to be a representation of the circulating viruses in Mozambique in 2005. Viruses characterised in this study belonged to lineage 5b, a similar finding of a previous study 10 years ago. From this data, it merely can be concluded that no new introduction of the virus occurred from 1995 to 2005 in Mozambique.
authors: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria. estelle.venter@up.ac.za.
authors: Raul
authors: R
authors: Fringe
authors: Anna-Mari
authors: AM
authors: Bosman
authors: Karen
authors: K
authors: Ebersohn
authors: Shahn
authors: S
authors: Bisschop
authors: Celia
authors: C
authors: Abolnik
authors: Estelle
authors: E
authors: Venter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens; D005784:Gene Amplification; D005838:Genotype; D009073:Mozambique; D009521:Newcastle Disease / Q000821:virology*; D009522:Newcastle disease virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral