Genomic analysis of Landes goose origin goose hemorrhagic polyomavirus, China

A goose hemorrhagic polyomavirus (GHPV) outbreak occurred in a Goose Farm in Hunan, China, between January and July 2021. Approximately 1,500 breeding goose died, and hatching rates dropped from the previous 85% to about 50% in this outbreak. GHPV HUN-01, isolated from the liver of infected Landes geese, shared a close evolutionary relationship with the Toulouse Goose 2000 and 14234 strain, isolated from geese in France and Hungary. The isolation of GHPV from the livers of dead embryos also demonstrates that the virus can be transmitted vertically. In conclusion, clinical and laboratory diagnostics of the diseased geese in this outbreak were consistent with GHPV being the causative agent. We learned that this is the first time that GHPV has been isolated from geese in mainland China.