Vet Med - Czech, 2024, 69(11):389-394 | DOI: 10.17221/15/2024-VETMED

A novel pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 isolated from a sick racing pigeon in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China shows high virulence in chickensShort Communication

L Tong, X Gao, L Feng, D Yao, X Zhang, Y Du, Y Zhou, F Chen

College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining, P.R. China

Pigeon paramyxovirus type-1 (PPMV-1) is the causative agent of pigeon Newcastle disease (ND), which has caused huge losses to the pigeon industry. In this study, a PPMV-1 strain, PPMV-1/QH-01/CH/23, was isolated from a sick racing pigeon in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, China in 2023. The mean death time of chicken embryos and the intracerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI) were 76.8 h and 1.25, indicating a mesogenic strain. Pigeon morbidity and mortality were 100% and 80%, respectively, and both were 80% in chickens; therefore, this isolate was velogenic for both pigeons and chickens. The fusion gene was amplified and sequenced for phylogenetic analysis, and the results indicated that the isolated strain possessed a virulent fusion protein cleavage site motif, ¹¹²R-R-Q-K-R-F¹¹⁷, and belonged to genotype XX (former sub-genotype VIc) of class II; this was different from the predominant sub-genotype, VI.2.1.1.2.2, which is prevalent in pigeons. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a novel genotype XX isolate possessing high virulence for both chickens and pigeons in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, China.

Keywords: genotype XX; PPMV-1; velogenic strain

Received: February 12, 2024; Revised: October 9, 2024; Accepted: October 31, 2024; Prepublished online: November 28, 2024; Published: November 29, 2024  Show citation