Highly Virulent Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Originated in Asia

SPAIN - Newly presented research for a doctoral thesis has used genetic sequencing to show that highly virulent infectious bursal disease virus (IBDv), also known as Gumboro, originated in Asia.
calendar icon 26 July 2016
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For the thesis, Jennifer S. Toskano Hurtado, from the Catalonian agricultural research institute IRTA, sequenced and analysed over 950 strains of IBDv, allowing a thorough overview of the circulation of these viruses in the field.

Using genetics and geography to trace the origins of the highly virulent form of the virus, the research identified Asia as the source, rather than north west Europe as was previously thought.

The work also identified evidence of viruses recombining to produce new genomes within Spain, which had not previously been found.

IRTA said the results will help future research on different aspects of control of the virus, from its development to its virulence and vaccine design, among others.

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