Simian pegivirus WNPRC-a strain:a Genome sequencing
From 2010 to 2015, more than 80 common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) housed at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) were diagnosed postmortem with severe lymphocytic enteritis. We used unbiased deep-sequencing to screen the blood of enteritis-positive marmosets for the presence of DNA and RNA viruses. In five out of eight marmosets found to have lymphocytic enteritis, we discovered two novel pegiviruses not present in ten healthy marmosets. The novel viruses, tentatively named simian pegivirus wnprc (SPgVwnprc) a and b, are most closely related to simian pegivirus A (68% nucleotide identity), which was previously isolated from a healthy tamarin (Saguinus nigricollis). To determine the prevalence of this novel virus within the WNPRC marmoset colony, we screened 146 living animals and found an overall prevalence of 34% (50/146). Over the ensuing four years any of the 136 screened marmosets that died were similarly examined for lymphocytic enteritis. Out of 85 marmosets deceased by May 31 2019, 27 SPgVwnprc-infected marmosets had developed lymphocytic enteritis, compared to 42 uninfected marmosets, indicating no association between this virus and development of enteritis (p = 0.820). This novel pegivirus was also found in 2 (out of 32, 6.25%) healthy marmosets screened while in quarantine during transfer from the New England Primate Research Center to the WNPRC, suggesting the virus may be widespread among captive common marmoset colonies. These findings have implications for the management of human and animal patients infected with pegiviruses and for public health issues related to pegivirus prevalence, and they demonstrate the need for further investigations to increase understanding of this group of viruses.