Genotypic diversity of CSFV field strains: A silent risk reduces vaccination efficacy of CSFV vaccines in Vietnam.

Classical swine fever (CSF) is a highly contagious, devastating, and transboundary viral disease that afflicts swine industries worldwide. Immunization with vaccines is one of the most effective strategies for controlling this disease. However, shifts in the antigenicity and pathogenicity of novel evolving viral strains have the potential to evade vaccination. In this study, 352 samples from swines exhibiting fever, hemorrhages, lethargy, and diarrhea in different pig farms located in 9 provinces of Vietnam were collected. CSFV was identified even within farms that had been vaccinated against CSFV. Several farms had swine which had been co-infection with CSFV and other pathogens. Copies of the E2 gene of 21 samples were isolated, cloned, sequenced, analyzed, and compared with copies of E2 in four vaccine strains. We identified a total of 42 amino acid substitutions in this glycoprotein, including 11 positions that affect the antigenic properties of E2 and 7 positions that are associated with neutralizing epitopes. The E2 glycoprotein of CSFV strains circulating in Vietnam and vaccine strains differ in their antigenicity. These findings provide deep insights into the molecular characteristics, genetic diversity, pathogenicity, antigenicity, and evolution of CSFV strains in Vietnam. Understanding the pathogenicity, antigenicity, and evolution of circulating CSFV strains will provide avenues for developing new vaccines and efficient approaches to control this disease.

Genetic diversity and molecular characterization of classical swine fever virus envelope protein genes E2 and Erns circulating in Vietnam from 2017 to 2019.

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is an RNA virus that incurs severe economic costs to swine industries worldwide. This study was conducted to investigate the genetic diversity among CSFV strains circulating in Vietnam, with a focus on their genetic variants relative to four vaccine strains. Samples from clinical cases were collected from different provinces of Central and Southern Vietnam from 2017 to 2019. 21 CSFV-positive samples were selected for amplification and sequencing of the full-length Erns and E2 genes. Phylogenetic analyses of these two genes showed that most CSFV strains circulating in Central and Southern Vietnam from 2017 to 2019 belong to subgroup 2.1c, whereas the remaining strains cluster into subgroup 2.2. All CSFV field strains in this study were genetically distant from group 1 strains. Analysis of the E2 and Erns genes indicated that all CSFV field strains have low sequence identity with the vaccine strains (80-83.5% and 82.3-86% sequence identity for E2 and Erns, respectively). Likewise, amino acid-level sequence analysis showed 87.3-91.1% and 87.6-91.6% sequence identity for E2 and Erns, respectively. Together, our findings indicate that CSFV strains circulating in Vietnam belong to subtypes 2.2 and 2.1c, and we also provide novel insights into the epidemiology, molecular characteristics, genetic diversity, and evolution of these circulating CSFV strains.