title: Separate evolution of virulent newcastle disease viruses from Mexico and Central America.
abstract: An outbreak of Newcastle disease (ND) in poultry was reported in Belize in 2008. The characteristics of three virulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolates from this outbreak (NDV-Belize-3/08, NDV-Belize-4/08, and NDV-Belize-12/08) were assessed by genomic analysis and by clinicopathological characterization in specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens. The results showed that all three strains belong to NDV genotype V and are virulent, as assessed by the intracerebral pathogenicity index and the polybasic amino acid sequence at the fusion protein cleavage site. In 4-week-old SPF chickens, NDV-Belize-3/08 behaved as a typical velogenic viscerotropic NDV strain, causing severe necrohemorrhagic lesions in the lymphoid organs, with systemic virus distribution. Phylogenetic analysis of multiple NDV genotype V representatives revealed that genotype V can be divided into three subgenotypes, namely, Va, Vb, and Vc, and that all tested Belizean isolates belong to subgenotype Vb. Furthermore, these isolates are nearly identical to a 2007 isolate from Honduras and appear to have evolved separately from other contemporary viruses circulating in Mexico, clustering into a new clade within NDV subgenotype Vb.
authors: USDA, ARS, Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, Georgia, USA.
authors: Leonardo
authors: L
authors: Susta
authors: Krishna R
authors: KR
authors: Hamal
authors: Patti J
authors: PJ
authors: Miller
authors: Stivalis
authors: S
authors: Cardenas-Garcia
authors: Corrie C
authors: CC
authors: Brown
authors: Janice C
authors: JC
authors: Pedersen
authors: Victor
authors: V
authors: Gongora
authors: Claudio L
authors: CL
authors: Afonso
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002489:Central America; D002645:Chickens / Q000821:virology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D005838:Genotype; D008800:Mexico; D009521:Newcastle Disease / Q000821:virology*; D009522:Newcastle disease virus / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000821:virology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins