Genetic characterization of early isolates of Japanese encephalitis virus: genotype II has been circulating since at least 1951

• Published in: Journal of general virology 2010-01, Vol.91 (1), p.95-102
• Main Authors: Schuh, Amy J, Li, Li, Tesh, Robert B, Innis, Bruce L, Barrett, Alan D. T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal; Asia - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cluster Analysis; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese - genetics; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese - isolation & purification; Encephalitis, Japanese - epidemiology; Encephalitis, Japanese - history; Encephalitis, Japanese - virology; Endemic Diseases; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetics; Genotype; History, 20th Century; Humans; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Molecular Epidemiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; RNA, Viral - genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology; USSR - epidemiology; Virology
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.013631-0

1 Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0609, USA 2 Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0609, USA 3 Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0609, USA 4 Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0609, USA 5 Department of Virus Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307-5001, USA Correspondence Alan D. T. Barrett abarrett{at}utmb.edu Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) consists of five genotypes (GI–V). Phylogenetic characterization of 16 JEV strains isolated from the ‘USSR’, Japan and Korea during the 1930–1970s revealed that 15 strains fell into GIII, confirming that GIII was the predominant genotype of JEV in Japan and Korea between 1935 (isolation of the prototype strain; a GIII virus) and the 1990s (when GI supplanted GIII). One of the Korean isolates fell into GII, demonstrating that GII has been circulating for at least 19 years longer than previously thought. Formerly, GII was associated with endemic disease and this genotype had never been isolated north of Southern Thailand. Additionally, the northern border of GIII prevalence was extended from Japan to the ‘USSR’. Present address: GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, King of Prussia, PA 19406-2772, USA. The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the sequences described in this study are FJ515922 [GenBank] –FJ515937 [GenBank] , FJ872376 [GenBank] –FJ872384 [GenBank] and GQ415347 [GenBank] –GQ415356. A supplementary table of primer sequences is available with the online version of this paper.