Molecular Detection and Characterization of Herpesvirus Papio 2 (HVP2) in Wild-Caught Olive Baboons from Selected Regions in Kenya

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
G. Kemunto 1
M. Kevin 1
K. Joseph 2
A. Nyachieo 2
1 Biochemistry Department, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, 62,000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
2 Institute of Primate Research, P.O Box 2448 Karen 00502, Nairobi, Kenya.
10.52547/iem.8.4.345
Abstract
Backgrounds: There is a remarkable similarity between Herpesvirus papio 2 (HVP2) infecting baboons and human simplex virus (HSV) in terms of molecular biology, protein functions, and resulting infections. However, no definitive therapy exists, and the available drugs only improve the clinical signs of recurrent or asymptomatic infections. This research results may be useful for studies on the quest for HVP2 curative and preventive drugs in baboon models. Later, a similar study could be done on HSV in humans.

Materials & Methods: A total of 60 baboons were sampled from six different counties in Kenya. Of these, 51 cases were wild caught from five counties, and nine cases were from the Institute of Primate Research (IPR) colonies designated as captive baboons. Oral and genital swabs were collected for analysis. The trigeminal ganglia of three study subjects were also aseptically sampled. Polymerase chain reaction test was used to determine the prevalence of HVP2. HVP2-positive samples were sequenced and aligned to GenBank sequences using BLAST to identify specific circulating strains and generate phylogenetic relationships. DnaSP6 was used for genetic diversity analysis.

Results: Among 60 baboons studied, 65% were positive for the virus. One strain, A951, was identified as the prevalent strain. Extremely low fixation index values (Fst) were recorded, showing low genetic diversity within and between subpopulations.

Conclusion: The identified strain was non-pathogenic but could be clinically manifested as painful sores on the host's mucosal membranes and cause stillbirths. The virus prevalence was 75.86% in genital samples and 54.86% in oral samples, indicating that oral transmission is less common than genital transmission.

Keywords

Subjects

[1] Severini A, Tyler SD, Peters GA, Black D, Eberle R (2013). Genome sequence of a chimpanzee herpesvirus and its relation to other Primate Alphaherpesviruses. Arch Virol. 2013; 158:1825– 1828. [PubMed: 23508549].
[2] Tyler S, Severini A, Black D, Walker M, Eberle R (2011). Structure and Sequence of the Saimiriine herpesvirus 1 Genome. Virology. 2011; 410:181–191. [PubMed: 21130483].
[3] Tyler SD, Severini A (2006). The Complete Genome sequence of Herpesvirus papio 2 (Cercopithecine herpesvirus 16) shows evidence of Recombination events among various progenitor herpesviruses. J Virol. 2006; 80:1214–1221. [PubMed: 16414998].
[4] Amen MA, Griffiths A (2011). Identification and Expression analysis of herpes B virus encoded small sRNAs. J Virol. 2011; 85:7296–7311. [PubMed: 21543500].
[5] Fan Q, Longnecker R (2012). Is nectin-1 the “master” receptor for deadly herpes B virus infection? Virulence. 2012; 3:405. [PubMed: 22722246].
[6] Eberle, R., & Jones-Engel, L (2018). Questioning the Extreme Neurovirulence of Monkey B Virus (Macacine alphaherpesvirus 1). Advances in Virology, 2018, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/5248420
[7] Perelygina L, Patrusheva I, Vasireddi M, Brock N, Hilliard J, (2015). B Virus (Macacine herpesvirus 1) Glycoprotein D is functional but dispensable for virus entry into macaque and human skin cells. J Virol. 2015; 89:5515–5524. [PubMed: 25740986].
[8] Gilbert, M. F., & Ed, B (2017). HUMAN - OLIVE BABOON (Papio anubis L) CONFLICTS IN FARMS AROUND. 2017;89.
[9] Kreutzer R, Kreutzer M, Gunther CP, Matz-Rensing K, Wohlsein P (2011). Systemic herpesvirus infection in an Azara’s Night Monkey (Aotus azarae). J Med Primatol. 2011; 40:197–199. [PubMed: 21320132].
[10] Black, D., Ohsawa, K., Tyler, S., Maxwell, L., & Eberle, R (2014). A single viral gene determines lethal cross-species neurovirulence of baboon herpesvirus HVP2. Virology, 2014; 452–453, 86–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2013.12.038
[11] Li L, Qiu Z, Li Y, Liang F, Ye H, et al (2014). Herpes B virus gD interaction with its human receptor–an in-silico analysis approach. Their Biol Med Model. 2014; 11:27. [PubMed: 24902525].
[12] Mugo, N., Dadabhai, S. S., Bunnell, R., Williamson, J., Bennett, E., Baya, I., Akinyi, N., Mohamed, I., & Kaiser, R (2011). Prevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection, Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Coinfection, and Associated Risk Factors in a National, Population-Based Survey in Kenya. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2011; 38(11), 1059–1066. https://doi.org/10.1097/OLQ.0b013e31822e60b6
[13] Amornkul PN, Vandenhoudt H, Nasokho P, Odhiambo F, Mwaengo D, et al (2011). HIV Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors among Individuals Aged 13-34 Years in Rural Western Kenya. 2011; PLoS ONE 4: e6470.
[14] Looker, K. J., Magaret, A. S., Turner, K. M. E., Vickerman, P., Gottlieb, S. L., & Newman, L. M (2015). Global Estimates of Prevalent and Incident Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infections in 2012. 2015; PLoS ONE, 10(1), e114989. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114989
[15] KAIS Wall Chart Final.pdf. (2007).
[16] Chepkwony S, Kiula N, Nyakundi R, Gicheru M, Nyachieo A (2016). Sero-prevalence of herpesvirus papio 2 in wild-caught baboons from selected regions in Kenya. J Emerg Dis Virol. 2016; 2.
[17] Saitou N. and Nei M (1987). The neighbor-joining method: A new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. Molecular Biology and Evolution 4:406-425.
[18] Felsenstein J (1985). Confidence limits on phylogenies: An approach using the bootstrap. Evolution 1985; 39:783-791.
[19] Tamura K (1992). Estimation of the number of nucleotide substitutions when there are strong transition-transversion and G + C-content biases: Molecular Biology and Evolution 1992; 9:678-687.
[20] Tamura K., Stecher G., and Kumar S. (2021). MEGA 11: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Version 11. Molecular Biology and Evolution: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msab120
[21] Wertheim JO, Smith DD, Smith DM, Scheffler K, Pond SLK (2014). Evolutionary origins of human herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2. Mol Biol Evol. 2014; 31:2356–2364. [PubMed: 24916030].
[22] Lee MH, Rostal MK, Hughes T, Sitam F, Lee CY, et al (2015). Macacine herpesvirus 1 in long-tailed macaques, Malaysia, 2009–2011. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015; 21:1107–1113. [PubMed: 26080081].
[23] Katze D, Shi W, Patrusheva I, Perelygina L, Gowda MS, et al (2012). An automated ELISA using recombinant antigens for serologic diagnosis of B virus infections in macaques. Compar Med. 2012; 62:527–534.
[24] Rogers, K. M., Deatheridge, M., Breshears, M. A., Chapman, S., Black, D., Ritchey, J. W., Payton, M., & Eberle, R (2009). Type I IFN response to Papiine herpesvirus 2 (Herpesvirus papio 2; HVP2) determines neuropathogenicity in mice. Virology, 386(2), 280–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2009.01.001
[25] Swedell2013MOA.pdf. (2013)
[26] Knauf, S (2011). Clinical manifestation and aetiology of a genital associated disease in Olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis) at Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania.
[27] Troan BV, Perelygina L, Patrusheva I, van Wettere A, Hilliard J, et al (2007). Naturally transmitted Herpesvirus papio 2 infection in a black and white colobus monkey. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2007; 231:1878–1883. [PubMed: 18081530].
[28] Lin Q, Yuan GL, Ai L, Li J, Li HL (2012). Seroprevalence of BV (Macacine herpesvirus 1) in bred cynomolgus monkeys in Cambodia. J Vet Med Sci. 2012; 74:355–356. [PubMed: 21997241].
[29] Burrel, S., Désiré, N., Marlet, J., Dacheux, L., Seang, S., Caumes, E., Bourhy, H., Agut, H., & Boutolleau, D (2015). Genetic Diversity within Alphaherpesviruses: Characterization of a Novel Variant of Herpes Simplex Virus 2. Journal of Virology, 2015, 89(24), 12273–12283. https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01959-15
[30] Yanhong Zhang, Nancy Kim Pham, Huixian Zhang, Junda Lin, Qiang Lin (n.d). “Genetic Variations in Two Seahorse Species (Hippocampus mohnikei and Hippocampus trimaculatus): Evidence for Middle Pleistocene Population Expansion”, PLoS ONEhttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105494.
[31] Volodymyr Dvornyk, Anu Sirviö, Merja Mikkonen, Outi Savolainen (2002). Low Nucleotide Diversity at the pal1 Locus in the Widely Distributed Pinus sylvestris, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Volume 19, Issue 2, February 2002, Pages 179–188, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a004070
Infection Epidemiology and Microbiology
Volume 8, Issue 4
December 2022
Pages 345-356