High genetic diversity of Newcastle disease virus in wild and domestic birds in Northeastern China from 2013 to 2015 reveals potential epidemic trends.
Newcastle disease (ND), caused by the virulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV), is one of the most important viral diseases of birds globally, but little is currently known regarding enzootic trends of NDV in Northeastern China, especially for class I viruses. Thus, we performed a surveillance study for NDV in Northeastern China from 2013 to 2015. A total 755 samples from wild and domestic birds in wetlands and live bird markets (LBMs) were collected and ten isolates of NDV were identified. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses showed that five isolates from LBMs belong to class I subgenotype 1b, two (one from wild birds and one from LBMs) belong to the vaccine-like class II genotype II, and three (all from wild birds) belong to class II subgenotype Ib. Interestingly, the five class I isolates had epidemiological connections with viruses from Southern, Eastern and Southeastern China. Our findings, together with recent prevalent trends of class I and virulent class II NDV in China, suggest possible virus transmission between wild and domestic birds and the potential for a NDV epidemic in the future.