First report of bovine viral diarrhea virus subgenotypes 1d and 1e in southern Chile

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) affects cattle worldwide causing severe productive and economic loss. In this study, we investigated the subgenotypes of BVDV circulating in cattle samples from the Aysén region, an active cattle breeding area located in southern Chile. Partial amplification of the 5' untranslated region (UTR) was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and twelve samples were analyzed by Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Eight samples were identified as belonging to Pestivirus bovis subgenotype 1e, three to 1-b, and one to 1-d. The phylogenetic analyses performed revealed a marked distance between these now-identified strains and those previously reported in the country. These findings support the need to continually expand the analysis of the variability of the viral phylogeny for the currently circulating BVDV strains and to update the vaccines recommended for this livestock area and surrounding areas.