Identification of a Newly Isolated Getah Virus in the China-Laos Border,China

In this study, we isolated a virus strain （YN12031） from specimens of Armigeres subalbatus collected in the China-Laos border. BHK-21 cells infected with YN12031 exhibited an evident cytopathic effect （CPE） 32 h post-infection. The virus particles were spherical, 70 nm in diameter, and enveloped; they also featured surface fibers.

Molecular and serological surveillance of Getah virus in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China,2017–2020

The Getah virus(GETV),a mosquito-borne RNA virus,is widely distributed in Oceania and Asia.GETV is not the only pathogenic to horses,pigs,cattle,foxes and boars,but it can also cause fever in humans.Since its first reported case in Chinese mainland in 2017,the number of GETV-affected provinces has increased to seventeen till now.Therefore,we performed an epidemiologic investigation of GETV in the Xinjiang region,located in northwestern China,during the period of 2017-2020.ELISA was used to analyze 3299 serum samples collected from thoroughbred horse,local horse,sheep,goat,cattle,and pigs,with thoroughbred horse(74.8%),local horse(67.3%),goat(11.7%),sheep(10.0%),cattle(25.1%)and pigs(51.1%)being positive for anti-GETV antibodies.Interestingly,the neutralizing antibody titer in horses was much higher than in other species.Four samples from horses and pigs were positive for GETV according to RT-PCR.Furthermore,from the serum of a local horse,we isolated GETV which was designated as strain XJ-2019-07,and determined its complete genome sequence.From the phylogenetic relationships,it belongs to the Group III lineage.This is the first evidence of GETV associated to domestic animals in Xinjiang.Overall,GETV is prevalent in Xinjiang and probably has been for several years.Since no vaccine against GETV is available in China,detection and monitoring strategies should be improved in horses and pigs,especially imported and farmed,in order to prevent economic losses.

Construction and characterization of a full-length infectious clone of Getah virus in vivo

Getah virus(GETV)is a mosquito-borne virus of the genus Alphavirus in the family Togaviridae and,in recent years,it has caused several outbreaks in animals.The molecular basis for GETV pathogenicity is not well understood.Therefore,a reverse genetic system of GETV is needed to produce genetically modified viruses for the study of the viral replication and its pathogenic mechanism.Here,we generated a CMV-driven infectious cDNA clone based on a previously isolated GETV strain,GX201808(pGETV-GX).Transfection of pGETV-GX into BHK-21 cells resulted in the recovery of a recombinant virus(rGETV-GX)which showed similar growth characteristics to its parental virus.Then three-day-old mice were experimentally infected with either the parental or recombinant virus.The recombinant virus showed milder pathogenicity than the parental virus in the mice.Based on the established CMV-driven cDNA clone,subgenomic promoter and two restriction enzyme sites(BamHI and EcoRI)were introduced into the region between E1 protein and 3’UTR.Then the green fluorescent protein(GFP),red fluorescent protein(RFP)and improved light-oxygen-voltage(iLOV)genes were inserted into the restriction enzyme sites.Transfection of the constructs carrying the reporter genes into BHK-21 cells proved the rescue of the recombinant reporter viruses.Taken together,the establishment of a reverse genetic system for GETV provides a valuable tool for the study of the virus life cycle,and to aid the development of genetically engineered GETVs as vectors for foreign gene expression.