Author(s): Taisuke Horimoto
Influenza D virus, a potential causative agent of bovine respiratory disease, is genetically classified into 3 clusters, namely D/OK-, D/660- , and D/Japan-lineages. The antigenic heterogeneity of the hemagglutinin-esterase-fusion (HEF) protein among the lineages of influenza D viruses has not been elucidated in detail. Herein, to evaluate the antigenic heterogeneity of influenza D viruses in Japan, we compared the hemagglutination inhibition-antibody titers to each lineage strain using bovine sera collected at two geographically different regions in Japan. In western Japan, antibody titers to the D/Japan-lineage strain were higher than those to the other clustered strains in a majority of the samples; whereas in eastern Japan, the antibody titers to the D/OK-lineage strain were higher than those to the others. These findings suggest that influenza D viruses with HEF antigenic variation are circulating and are distributed regionally in Japan.
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