Isolation and characterization of orf viruses from Korean black goats

Five cases of orf virus infection in Korean black goats were diagnosed in our laboratory between 2010 and 2011. One orf virus (ORF/2011) was isolated from an ovine testis cell line (OA3.Ts) for use as a vaccine candidate. Sequences of the major envelope protein and orf virus interferon resistance genes were determined and compared with published reference sequences. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that orf viruses from Korean black goats were most closely related to an isolate (ORF/09/Korea) from dairy goats in Korea. This result indicates that the orf viruses might have been introduced from dairy goats into the Korean black goat population.