
Between Ethiopia and Sweden: New virus discovered in project for a united world
Viruses may be small, but they can cause huge problems on a global scale. PhD student Julia Bergholm is traveling between Sweden and Ethiopia, and on the way she discovers a brand new virus - now called the ‘Sulu virus’. Where will this project, originally about calves, end?
At the end of August 2022, Julia Bergholm will begin her doctoral studies in a research project on diarrhea in calves at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU. Plans for the project's fieldwork in Ethiopia begin to take shape fairly immediately, and less than six months later she is on the plane to the east coast of Africa.
In order to collect and store the samples necessary for the project, Julia read up on the climate conditions and bought all the equipment in the form of both laboratory materials and chemicals that might be necessary.
Julia's task was to collect samples from calves both affected and free of diarrheal disease, store the samples in a way that would not risk destroying them, and start up the first investigative phase from the base in Ethiopia. But conditions were not always perfect. The cold chain (which keeps the samples refrigerated) could be compromised - and hours-long power cuts could occur in the laboratory.
In addition, the work required strict safety measures.
Before it was time to travel home with the samples, the research team also chose to inactivate the samples, so that no living material would be brought across the Swedish border. Then it was time to pack up what was left of the sample material, get on the plane home and, after landing, start up the more advanced investigations in Sweden.
Returned to Sweden: Discovered a brand new virus
Using advanced technology, Julia Bergholm started looking for the so-called RNA viruses present in the samples from the sick animals. Not surprisingly, she discovered many different variants that have been linked to sick animals in other countries, although they had not previously been identified in animals in Ethiopia.
But then something unexpected happened.
A brand new virus appeared:
Being able to discover new viruses shows that metagenomics is a powerful tool to count on for the future. But the big question for this project remains: is it the Sulu virus, one of the other RNA viruses found, or something else entirely that is causing disease and mortality in so many animals in Ethiopia?
To answer that, further comparisons are needed between what is found in the samples from the sick calves, and from the healthy ones. And to make those results more reliable, Julia Bergholm is now planning another trip back to Ethiopia, to sample even more animals.
A long and important journey - for our common world and against future pandemics
But how does a project so far away from Sweden become relevant and important to us here? Well, because we live in a global world, where everything is ultimately connected.
In addition, projects like this one, where viruses are mapped, can be part of the work to monitor which viruses are present and spreading worldwide. This work can prevent and prepare us for major outbreaks that, in the worst case, can develop into something we all know well today: Pandemics.
Fearless and respectful - now and in the future
For her, this project is a start. And hopefully something that can lead the way for even more research in the field, both in Ethiopia and other parts of the world.
And for her own part, she hopes to continue her career with a focus on viruses.
In the future, she dreams of combining practical work, perhaps in government, with continuing research - to work on preventing disease outbreaks from many angles. But despite the threats that viruses pose to us humans as well as the animals of our planet, Julia expresses no fear:

Contact
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PersonJulia Bergholm, PhD-studentHBIO, Bacteriology, Virology, Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health