Widespread Reassortment Contributes to Antigenic Shift in Bluetongue Viruses from South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Bluetongue (BT), a viral disease of ruminants, is endemic throughout South Africa, where outbreaks of different serotypes occur. The predominant serotypes can differ annually due to herd immunity provided by annual vaccinations using a live attenuated vaccine (LAV). This has led to both wild-type and vaccine strains co-circulating in the field, potentially leading to novel viral strains due to reassortment and recombination. Little is known about the molecular evolution of the virus in the field in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of field strains of BTV in South Africa and to provide an initial assessment of the evolutionary processes shaping BTV genetic diversity in the field. Complete genomes of 35 field viruses belonging to 11 serotypes,

SUBMITTER: Van Schalkwyk A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10383083 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature