Transboundary spread of equine influenza viruses (H3N8) in West and Central Africa: Molecular characterization of identified viruses during outbreaks in Niger and Senegal, in 2019
Alpha Amadou Diallo, Maman Moutari Souley, Abdoulkarim Issa Ibrahim, Abdou Alassane, Rahila Issa, Haladou Gagara, Bachir Yaou, Abdou Issiakou, Mariame Diop, Racky Oumar Ba Diouf, Fatou Tall Lo, Modou Moustapha Lô, Mame Thierno Bakhoum, Mamadou Sylla, Momar Talla Seck, Clement Meseko, Ismaila Shittu, Ann Cullinane, Tirumala Bharani K. Settypalli, Charles Euloge Lamien, William G. Dundon, Giovanni Cattoli
Abstract
Since November 2018, several countries in West and Central Africa have reported mortalities in donkeys and horses. Specifically, more than 66,000 horses and donkeys have succumbed to disease in Burkina Faso, Chad, Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal. Strangles caused by Streptococcus equi subsp equi, African Horse Sickness (AHS) virus, and Equine influenza virus (EIV) were all suspected as potential causative agents. This study reports the identification of EIV in field samples collected in Niger and Senegal. Phylogenetic analysis of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes revealed that the identified viruses belonged to clade 1 of the Florida sublineage and were very similar to viruses identified in Nigeria in 2019. Interestingly, they were also more similar to EIVs from recent outbreaks in South America than to those in Europe and the USA. This is one of the first reports providing detailed description and characterization of EIVs in West and Central Africa region.