Sunguru virus: a novel virus in the family Rhabdoviridae isolated from a chicken in north-western Uganda.
Sunguru virus (SUNV), a novel virus belonging to the highly diverse Rhabdoviridae family, was isolated from a domestic chicken in the district of Arua, Uganda, in 2011. This is the first documented isolation of a rhabdovirus from a chicken. SUNV is related to, but distinct from, Boteke virus and other members of the unclassified Sandjimba group. The genome is 11056 nt in length and contains the five core rhabdovirus genes plus an additional C gene (within the ORF of a phosphoprotein gene) and a small hydrophobic protein (between the matrix and glycoprotein genes). Inoculation of vertebrate cells with SUNV resulted in significant viral growth, with a peak titre of 7.8 log10 p.f.u. ml(-1) observed in baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells. Little to no growth was observed in invertebrate cells and in live mosquitoes, with Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes having a 47.4% infection rate in the body but no dissemination of the virus to the salivary glands; this suggests that this novel virus is not arthropod borne as some other members of the family Rhabdoviridae.
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
Jeremy P
JP
Ledermann
International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh.
Nord
N
Zeidner
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
Erin M
EM
Borland
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
John-Paul
JP
Mutebi
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
Robert S
RS
Lanciotti
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
Barry R
BR
Miller
Department of Arbovirology, Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), PO Box 49, Entebbe, Uganda.
Julius J
JJ
Lutwama
CDC Uganda Plaque Laboratory, Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Arua, Uganda.
Joseph M
JM
Tendo
Vurra Subcounty Local Government, Arua, Uganda.
Vincent
V
Andama
Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
Ann M
AM
Powers
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000821:virology; D002460:Cell Line; D002645:Chickens / Q000821:virology*; D006224:Cricetinae; D005814:Genes, Viral; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D012209:Rhabdoviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018353:Rhabdoviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000821:virology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014454:Uganda; D019562:Viral Load
D012367:RNA, Viral