During the course of the surveillance of bovine arboviruses, six virus isolations were made from Culicoides biting midges and from blood samples of sentinel cattle in Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures, in the southern part of Japan, in 2002. This region is an epidemic area for bovine arboviruses that severely affect the livestock industry. Serological and genetic tests indicated that these viruses are isolates of the Shamonda virus (SHAV), which belongs to the Simbu serogroup of the genus Orthobunyavirus of the family Bunyaviridae. Initially, SHAV was isolated from cattle and Culicoides biting midges in Nigeria in the 1960s and had not been isolated elsewhere until this study. Our study indicated the possibility that there can be an unexpected resurgence of certain arboviruses in geographically distinct areas. It is necessary to reinforce and extend the use of sensitive surveillance systems for exotic arboviruses, such as SHAV.
(Clinical Virology Section, Kyushu Research Station. TEL +81-99-268-2078)
Reference:
Yanase et al. (2005) Arch. Virol. 150: 361-369.
