Isolation of a contemporary Getah virus strain from aborted swine and construction of a stable infectious cDNA clone...

Getah virus (GETV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic arbovirus, and clinical infections in animals have been reported with increasing frequency in recent years, posing a potential threat to animal health and public health. In this study, a Getah virus strain, designated GETV-HN2024, was isolated from a spleen sample collected from an aborted fetus in a swine herd in Anhui Province. Phylogenetic trees based on the complete genome and the E2 gene revealed that HN2024 belongs to GETV genotype GIII and is relatively distant from the original Malaysian prototype strain (MM2021), while exhibiting higher genetic homology with porcine-derived GETV strains. Amino acid sequence analysis of the E2 coding region further demonstrated that HN2024 shared 96.9% to 99.8% amino acid identity with reference strains deposited in GenBank. Using the field isolate, rabbit polyclonal antibodies targeting the GETV E1 protein were generated. Simultaneously, the full-length viral genome was cloned into the pBluescript SK(+) vector downstream of the T7 promoter, leading to the successful rescue of the recombinant virus rHN2024. The results showed that the rescued virus exhibited biological characteristics similar to those of the parental strain and maintained good genetic stability. In conclusion, we isolated a contemporary GETV strain, constructed a full-length infectious cDNA clone, and successfully rescued the recombinant GETV. This infectious clone provides a practical reverse genetics platform that will facilitate detailed studies on the virulence determinants, pathogenic mechanisms of GETV, as well as the development of novel vaccines and control strategies in veterinary preventive medicine.