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Hendra virus (HeV) is lethal to horses and a zoonotic threat to humans in Australia, causing severe neurological and/or respiratory disease with high mortality. An equine vaccine has been available since 2012. Foals acquire antibodies from their dams by ingesting colostrum after parturition, therefore it is assumed that foals of mares vaccinated against HeV will have passive HeV antibodies circulating during the first several months of life until they are actively vaccinated. However, no studies have yet examined passive or active immunity against HeV in foals. Here, we investigated anti-HeV antibody levels in vaccinated mares and their foals. Testing for HeV neutralising antibodies is cumbersome due to the requirement for Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) containment to conduct virus neutralisation tests (VNT). For this study, a subset of samples was tested for HeV G-specific antibodies by both an authentic VNT with infectious HeV and a microsphere-based immunoassay (MIA), revealing a strong correlation. An indicative neutralising level was then applied to the results of a larger sample set tested using the MIA. Mares had high levels of HeV-specific neutralising antibodies at the time of parturition. Foals acquired high levels of maternal antibodies which then waned to below predictive protective levels in most foals by 6 months old when vaccination commenced. Foals showed a suboptimal response to vaccination, suggesting maternal antibodies may interfere with active vaccination. The correlation analysis between the authentic HeV VNT and HeV MIA will enable further high throughput serological studies to inform optimal vaccination protocols for both broodmares and foals. • Luminex® microsphere immunoassay can indicate neutralising Hendra Virus antibodies. • Foals of mares vaccinated for Hendra Virus acquire protective passive antibodies. • Passive antibodies in foals waned to below protective levels by 3–6 months of age. • Foals from vaccinated mares had a suboptimal response to Hendra Virus vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Australian black swan (Cygnus atratus) is an iconic species with contrasting plumage to that of the closely related northern hemisphere white swans. The relative geographic isolation of the black swan may have resulted in a limited immune repertoire and increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, notably infectious diseases from which Australia has been largely shielded. Unlike mallard ducks and the mute swan (Cygnus olor), the black swan is extremely sensitive to highly pathogenic avian influenza. Understanding this susceptibility has been impaired by the absence of any available swan genome and transcriptome information., Results: Here, we generate the first chromosome-length black and mute swan genomes annotated with transcriptome data, all using long-read based pipelines generated for vertebrate species. We use these genomes and transcriptomes to show that unlike other wild waterfowl, black swans lack an expanded immune gene repertoire, lack a key viral pattern-recognition receptor in endothelial cells and mount a poorly controlled inflammatory response to highly pathogenic avian influenza. We also implicate genetic differences in SLC45A2 gene in the iconic plumage of the black swan., Conclusion: Together, these data suggest that the immune system of the black swan is such that should any avian viral infection become established in its native habitat, the black swan would be in a significant peril., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging virus that has caused significant human morbidity and mortality since its detection in late 2019. With the rapid emergence has come an unprecedented programme of vaccine development with at least 300 candidates under development. Ferrets have proven to be an appropriate animal model for testing safety and efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines due to quantifiable virus shedding in nasal washes and oral swabs. Here, we outline our efforts early in the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak to propagate and characterize an Australian isolate of the virus in vitro and in an ex vivo model of human airway epithelium, as well as to demonstrate the susceptibility of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) to SARS-CoV-2 infection following intranasal challenge., (© 2021 The Authors. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)