Genetic characterization and clinical characteristics of bovine viral diarrhea viruses in cattle herds of Heilongjiang province, China

Background: Heilongjiang province is the main cattle-producing area in China, and molecular epidemiological studies of bovine viral diarrhea viruses (BVDV) in cattle have not been performed in the province. Aims: The objective of this research was to determine the genetic and clinical characteristics of BVDV in cattle. Methods: Fifty-three BVDV-positive clinical samples were collected from 22 cattle farms in Heilongjiang, and the 5 '-untranslated region (5 '-UTR) was used to carry out a phylogenetic analysis of the viruses. Results: The similarity of the 5 '-UTR sequences among these BVDVs was 84.2%-100%, and the phylogenetic analysis showed that all viruses belong to the BVDV-1 species, which is classified into five subtypes: BVDV-1b (47.17%, n=25), 1c (15.09%, n=8), 1d (16.98%, n=9), 1 m (3.77%, n=2), and 1o (16.98%, n=9). The statistical results showed that the BVDV-1b subtype had a positive correlation with gastrointestinal disease (P<0.05; 95% CI: 1.19 to 3.34). There were up to three or four BVDV-1 subtypes in some dairy cattle farms, but farms with a single subtype were prevalent (5/10). Conclusion: BVDV-1b is predominant in cattle herds of Heilongjiang province, China, and shows a positive correlation with gastrointestinal disease. BVDV-1o was found for the first time in Chinese cattle, which increased the complex distribution of BVDV-1 subtypes in cattle herds of China.