Simian pegivirus WNPRC-a strain:a Genome sequencing

From 2010 to 2015, more than 80 common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) housed at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) were diagnosed postmortem with severe lymphocytic enteritis. We used unbiased deep-sequencing to screen the blood of enteritis-positive marmosets for the presence of DNA and RNA viruses. In five out of eight marmosets found to have lymphocytic enteritis, we discovered two novel pegiviruses not present in ten healthy marmosets. The novel viruses, tentatively named simian pegivirus wnprc (SPgVwnprc) a and b, are most closely related to simian pegivirus A (68% nucleotide identity), which was previously isolated from a healthy tamarin (Saguinus nigricollis). To determine the prevalence of this novel virus within the WNPRC marmoset colony, we screened 146 living animals and found an overall prevalence of 34% (50/146). Over the ensuing four years any of the 136 screened marmosets that died were similarly examined for lymphocytic enteritis. Out of 85 marmosets deceased by May 31 2019, 27 SPgVwnprc-infected marmosets had developed lymphocytic enteritis, compared to 42 uninfected marmosets, indicating no association between this virus and development of enteritis (p = 0.820). This novel pegivirus was also found in 2 (out of 32, 6.25%) healthy marmosets screened while in quarantine during transfer from the New England Primate Research Center to the WNPRC, suggesting the virus may be widespread among captive common marmoset colonies. These findings have implications for the management of human and animal patients infected with pegiviruses and for public health issues related to pegivirus prevalence, and they demonstrate the need for further investigations to increase understanding of this group of viruses.

2010至2015年间，美国威斯康星国家灵长类研究中心（Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, WNPRC）饲养的80余只普通狨猴（Callithrix jacchus）经死后解剖确诊患有重度淋巴细胞性肠炎。本研究采用无偏倚深度测序技术，对淋巴细胞性肠炎阳性狨猴的血液样本开展DNA与RNA病毒筛查。在8例确诊肠炎的狨猴中，5例检出两种此前未在10只健康狨猴体内发现的新型佩吉病毒（Pegivirus）。这两种暂命名为猿猴佩吉病毒WNPRC株a、b（simian pegivirus wnprc a/b, SPgVwnprc a/b）的新型病毒，与此前从健康黑须柽柳猴（Saguinus nigricollis）体内分离的猿猴佩吉病毒A（simian pegivirus A）亲缘关系最近，核苷酸同源性达68%。为明确该新型病毒在WNPRC狨猴饲养种群中的流行率，本研究对146只存活狨猴进行筛查，整体流行率为34%（50/146）。在随后四年中，研究人员对136只接受筛查的死亡狨猴同样开展淋巴细胞性肠炎检测。截至2019年5月31日，共有85只狨猴死亡，其中27只感染SPgVwnprc的狨猴出现淋巴细胞性肠炎，未感染的狨猴中出现肠炎的有42只，结果显示该病毒与肠炎发病无显著关联（p = 0.820）。此外，在从新英格兰灵长类研究中心转运至WNPRC期间处于检疫状态的32只健康狨猴中，有2只检出该新型佩吉病毒（占比6.25%），提示该病毒可能在圈养普通狨猴种群中广泛传播。本研究结果对佩吉病毒感染的人类与动物患者管理、以及与佩吉病毒流行相关的公共卫生问题具有参考价值，同时也表明亟需开展进一步研究以加深对该类病毒的认知。