Identification and genetic characterization of a novel Orthobunyavirus species by a straightforward high-throughput sequencing-based approach

Shifman, Ohad; Cohen-Gihon, Inbar; Beth-Din, Adi; Zvi, Anat; Laskar, Orly; Paran, Nir; Epstein, Eyal; Stein, Dana; Dorozko, Marina; Wolf, Dana; Yitzhaki, Shmuel; Shapira, Shmuel C.; Melamed, Sharon; Israeli, Ofir

Viral safety of biological products derived from equine plasma is verified by testing the starting material of the process (hyperimmune horse plasma) for viral contamination 22 and by assessing the efficacy of the entire production process to inactivate infectious viruses 23 . As part of such a process, batches of plasma obtained from a hyperimmune horse, producing anti-botulinum antibodies, were routinely inspected for viruses by incubating the plasma in Vero and BHK cell lines and monitoring them for cytopathic effect (CPE). In one batch (H234), the presence of a virus was detected. The hyperimmune horse was closely monitored and did not show any clinical manifestation indicating viral infection. Although this batch of plasma was rejected and was not further considered for production purposes, identification and characterization of the virus present in the sample is of major importance for process assessment.