Detection of Akabane virus genome in organs and blood of experimentally infected cavies

Akabane disease, a transmissible pathology of cattle, sheep and goats, is caused by Simbu serotype virus ( Bunyaviridae ) and results in significant economical losses due to abortions, unviable and abnormal calves, or dead embryos and calves born. The Akabane disease epizooties, characterized by geographic locations and the coincidence with definite seasons, are widely registered. For preparative accumulation of Akabane virus the 1-2 day mice are used as the most sensitive system for Bunyaviridae isolation. Earlier we reported the development of a test system for Akabane virus RNA indication by real time reverse transcription PCR. Its efficacy was approved using infected mice and cell cultures. Furthermore, it was of interest to estimate this test system with respect to more wide range of model animals to be involved in the study and reproduction of Akabane virus. In this investigation, healthy cavies ( n = 20, the animal weight of 400 g) were infected with a concentrated viral culture (B8935 strain) of 7.0 lg lg TCID 50/cm 3. In blood the Akabane virus RNA was detected in four animals only 4 days after inoculation, but not shown in the rest probes, which were sampled from 2 to 6 days, and one cavy died a day after infection, probably due to nonspecific reaction as the Akabane virus genome was not detected in the post mortem tissue samples of all the organs of the animal tested. After 4 days the Akabane virus RNA was also indicated in brain, lung, kidney, hart and lymphatic gland. Thus, the developed test-system is effective for Akabane disease diagnosis, and the experimentally infected cavies can be the model animals used to study and produce Akabane virus preparations.