• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.173-182
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• 2020

Human Astrovirus (HuAstV), known as a waterborne virus, is a group IV positive-sense single-stranded RNA that belongs to Astroviridae. The first outbreak of HuAstV was reported in England in 1975. HuAstV can exist not only among clinical patients but also in various water environments, such as water for agriculture and vegetables. For diagnosis of HuAstV from water samples, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system has been developed. However, the PCR-based diagnostic method has problems in field application, such as reaction time, sensitivity and specificity. For this reason, in this study we developed the loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay (LAMP) system, aimed specifically at HuAstV. Three prepared LAMP primer sets were tested by specificity, non-specificity and sensitivity; one LAMP primer set was selected with optimum reaction temperature. The developed LAMP primer set reaction conditions were confirmed at 62℃, and detection sensitivity was 1 fg/μL. In addition, restriction enzyme HaeIII (GG/CC) was introduced to confirm that the LAMP reaction was positive. As a result, selected LAMP primer set was 100 - 1000 times more specific, rapid, and sensitive than conventional-nested PCR methods. For verification of the developed LAMP assay, twenty samples of cDNA from groundwater samples were tested. We expect that the developed LAMP assay will be used to diagnose HuAstV from various samples.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.84.1-84.10
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• 2021

Background: Enteritis of an infectious origin is a major cause of productivity and economic losses to cattle producers worldwide. Several pathogens are believed to cause or contribute to the development of calf diarrhea. Astroviruses (AstVs) are neglected enteric pathogens in ruminants, but they have recently gained attention because of their possible association with encephalitis in humans and various animal species, including cattle. Objectives: This paper describes a large outbreak of neonatal diarrhea in buffalo calves (Bubalus bubalis), characterized by high mortality, which was associated with an AstV infection. Methods: Following an enteritis outbreak characterized by high morbidity (100%) and mortality (46.2%) in a herd of Mediterranean buffaloes (B. bubalis) in Italy, 16 samples from buffalo calves were tested with the molecular tools for common and uncommon enteric pathogens, including AstV, kobuvirus, and torovirus. Results: The samples tested negative for common enteric viral agents, including Rotavirus A, coronavirus, calicivirus, pestivirus, kobuvirus, and torovirus, while they tested positive for AstV. Overall, 62.5% (10/16) of the samples were positive in a single round reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for AstV, and 100% (16/16) were positive when nested PCR was performed. The strains identified in the outbreak showed a clonal origin and shared the closest genetic relationship with bovine AstVs (up to 85% amino acid identity in the capsid). Conclusions: This report indicates that AstVs should be included in a differential diagnosis of infectious diarrhea in buffalo calves.