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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

Sec. Molecular Viral Pathogenesis

Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1652023

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancements in the Understanding, Diagnosis, and Control of Viral Diseases of Cattle, Goats, and SheepView all 3 articles

Comprehensive Molecular Epidemiology of BVDV in Yaks (Bos gruniens) in Qinghai, China: High Prevalence and Dominance of BVDV-1u

Provisionally accepted
Zhi LiZhi Li1Yuan HanYuan Han1YONG FUYONG FU1Qing YuanQing Yuan1Shu Qin WangShu Qin Wang2Xingye PanXingye Pan3Wanchao XueWanchao Xue3Hong YinHong Yin4Shandian GaoShandian Gao4Meng RuMeng Ru2*
  • 1Qinghai University, Xining, China
  • 2Xining animal disease prevention and control center, Xining, China
  • 3Animal husbandry and veterinary station of Huangyuan County, Huangyuan, China
  • 4Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China

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Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a major pathogen affecting livestock health in China. However, the current epidemiological status in yaks (Bos grunniens), particularly in Qinghai Province, remains insufficiently understood. In the present study, a comprehensive serological and molecular investigation of BVDV in yaks was conducted across broad geographic areas of eight administrative regions including Yushu, Guoluo, Huangnan, Hainan, Haidong, Haixi, Haibei, and Xining in Qinghai Province. The results revealed widespread BVDV exposure in Qinghai yak, with an overall antibody prevalence of 84.52% (1158/1370) and substantial herd variation (12.00~98.07%). Active infections were confirmed through antigen detection, revealing prevalence ranging from 0.34% (Haixi) to 4.90% (Huangnan).Genetic characterization identified two circulating subgenotypes: BVDV-1a (n=3) and the predominant BVDV-1u (n=30), with the latter dominating across all regions.These results highlight the endemic circulation of BVDV in Qinghai yak populations and uncover unexpected genetic diversity, emphasizing the need for control measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of BVDV infection in yaks in high-altitude pastoral systems.

Keywords: Bovine viral diarrhea virus,, Yak (Bos grunniens),, Prevalence,, phylogenetic analysis，, Subgenotypes

Received: 23 Jun 2025; Accepted: 29 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Li, Han, FU, Yuan, Wang, Pan, Xue, Yin, Gao and Ru. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Meng Ru, Xining animal disease prevention and control center, Xining, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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