“Fading out” - genomic epidemiology of the last persistently infected BVDV cattle in Germany

Abstract

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is one of the most important cattle pathogens worldwide, causing major economic losses and animal welfare issues. Disease eradication programs have been implemented in several countries, including Germany where an obligatory nationwide control program is in force since 2011. As molecular epidemiology has become an essential tool to understand the transmission dynamics and evolution of BVDV, 5′ untranslated region (UTR) sequences are generated from viruses present in persistently infected animals since the beginning of the BVDV control program. Here, we report the results of the sequence-based subtyping of BVDV strains found from 2018 through 2022 in calves born in Germany. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, BVDV-1d and-1b were the dominant subtypes and cases were spread throughout the area that was not yet officially declared BVDV-free at that time. In addition, BVDV–1a, −1e, −1f and -1h could rarely be detected. From 2021 onwards, subtype 1d clearly took over the dominance, while the other subtypes could be gradually nearly eliminated from the cattle population. The eradication success not only results in a drastic reduction of cases, but also in a marked reduction of strain diversity. Interestingly, before vaccination has been banned in regions and farms with a disease-free status, two live-vaccine virus strains were repeatedly detected in ear tissue samples of newborn calves (n = 14) whose mothers were immunized during gestation. The field-virus sequences are an important basis for molecular tracing and identification of potential relationships between the last outbreaks in the final phase of the German BVDV eradication program, thereby supporting classic epidemiological investigations. Furthermore, the monitoring of the composition of virus subtypes in the cattle population helps to maintain effective diagnostic methods and control measures and is an early warning system for the introduction of new pestiviruses in the naïve cattle population.