Key result
Screening of 90 North American fetal bovine serum lots found no evidence of HoBi-like viruses in US-packaged lots, though 2 lots processed in Europe tested positive by RT-PCR.
Cross-Sectional (n=90)
There is no evidence of HoBi-like viruses in North American fetal bovine serum lots packaged in the US, though lots processed in Europe tested positive.
US fetal bovine serum lots show no HoBi-like virus contamination; leaves open need for screening of European-processed lots in cell culture research.
The detection of an emerging pestivirus species, "HoBi-like virus," in fetal bovine serum (FBS) labeled as U.S. origin, but packaged in Europe, raised concerns that HoBi-like virus may have entered the United States. In the current study, 90 lots of FBS originating in North America (NA) were screened for pestivirus antigen and antibodies. Lots in group 1 (G1, 72 samples) and group 2 (G2, 9 samples) originated in NA and were packaged in the United States. Group 3 (G3) was composed of 9 lots collected in NA and processed in Europe. Lots in G1 were claimed negative for Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), while lots in G2 and G3 were claimed positive by the commercial processor. All lots in G1 and G2 tested negative by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using HoBi-like-specific primers. Two G1 lots tested positive by BVDV RT-PCR. One of these was also positive by virus isolation. All G2 lots were positive by BVDV RT-PCR. In addition, four G2 lots were VI positive while 1 lot was antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) positive. Two G3 lots were positive by HoBi-like-specific RT-PCR tests. All lots were negative for HoBi_D32/00 neutralizing antibodies. Seven lots (4 G1; 1 G2; 2 G3) had antibodies against BVDV by virus neutralization and/or antigen-capture ELISA. While there is no evidence of HoBi-like viruses in NA based on tested samples, further studies are required to validate HoBi-like virus-free status and develop means to prevent the spread of HoBi-like virus into NA.
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Bauermann et al. (2014) conducted a cross-sectional in HoBi-like virus contamination (n=90). Packaging location (Europe vs United States) vs. United States packaging was evaluated on Presence of HoBi-like virus by RT-PCR. Screening of 90 North American fetal bovine serum lots found no evidence of HoBi-like viruses in US-packaged lots, though 2 lots processed in Europe tested positive by RT-PCR.
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