New evidence of bovine leukemia virus circulating in Myanmar cattle through epidemiological and molecular characterization

PLoS One. 2020 Feb 21;15(2):e0229126. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229126. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the etiological agent of enzootic bovine leukosis, which is the most common neoplastic disease of cattle. BLV infects cattle worldwide and causes serious problems for the cattle industry. In this study, we examined the prevalence of BLV infection and the distribution of BLV genotypes in cattle in the northern, central, and southern parts of Myanmar. The prevalence of BLV infection among Myanmar cattle (37.04%) in this study was markedly higher than the prevalence (9.1%) observed in our earlier study in which BLV was detected from the limited number of cattle only from a small area of Myanmar. Phylogenetic analysis of partial env-gp51 sequence of the isolated BLV strains revealed that there are at least three BLV genotypes (genotype-1, genotype-6, and genotype-10) in Myanmar, which have also been detected in the neighboring countries. We performed this study to estimate the BLV proviral load, which is a major diagnosis index for determining the virus transmission risk. The cattle of the three test regions with warm, wet, and humid climatic conditions (upper Sagaing, Yangon, and Kayin) exhibited a high mean proviral load, while cattle of three other regions with low annual rainfall and very high temperature (Mandalay, Magway, and upper Bago) exhibited a low mean proviral load. Further, the level of proviral load and the prevalence of BLV infection in Myanmar native cattle (N = 235) were lower than that in the hybrid cattle (Holstein Friesian × Myanmar native) (N = 62). We also observed that the cattle with high risk for BLV transmission, which have high proviral load, may enhance the BLV infection rate. Hence, to control BLV transmission, it is necessary to eliminate these cattle with high-risk for BLV transmission and to diagnose BLV provirus in cattle in the remaining regions/states of Myanmar sharing a boundary with neighboring countries.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cattle
  • Genotype
  • Leukemia Virus, Bovine / classification
  • Leukemia Virus, Bovine / genetics*
  • Likelihood Functions
  • Phylogeny
  • Prevalence
  • Temperature

Grants and funding

The study was supported by the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (Grant No. 16H02590). This research was also supported by grants from the Project of the NARO Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution [the Special Scheme Project on Regional Developing Strategy (Grant No. 16817983) and the Special Scheme Project on Vitalizing Management Entities of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Grant No. 16930548)]. Kyaw Kyaw Moe is a JSPS International Research Fellow [FY2018 Invitational Fellowship for Research in Japan (Long-term)].