Reliable and Standardized Animal Models to Study the Pathogenesis of Bluetongue and Schmallenberg Viruses in Ruminant Natural Host Species with Special Emphasis on Placental Crossing

Starting in 2006, bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV8) was responsible for a major epizootic in Western and Northern Europe. The magnitude and spread of the disease were surprisingly high and the control of BTV improved significantly with the marketing of BTV8 inactivated vaccines in 2008. During late summer of 2011, a first cluster of reduced milk yield, fever, and diarrhoea was reported in the Netherlands. Congenital malformations appeared in March 2012 and Schmallenberg virus (SBV) was identified, becoming one of the very few orthobunyaviruses distributed in Europe. At the start of both epizootics, little was known about the pathogenesis and epidemiology of these viruses in the European context and most assumptions were extrapolated based on other related viruses and/or other regions of the World. Standardized and repeatable models potentially mimicking clinical signs observed in the field are required to study the pathogenesis of these infections, and to clarify their ability to cross the placental barrier. This review presents some of the latest experimental designs for infectious disease challenges with BTV or SBV. Infectious doses, routes of infection, inoculum preparation, and origin are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to the placental crossing associated with these two viruses.

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Evaluation of humoral response and protective efficacy of three inactivated vaccines against bluetongue virus serotype 8 one year after vaccination of sheep and cattle

Vaccine ◽

10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.04.055 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 28 (27) ◽

pp. 4348-4355 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Regula Wäckerlin ◽

Michael Eschbaumer ◽

Patricia König ◽

Bernd Hoffmann ◽

Martin Beer

Keyword(s):

Bluetongue Virus ◽

Protective Efficacy ◽

Humoral Response ◽

Virus Serotype ◽

Inactivated Vaccines ◽

One Year

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VP2 Gene Based Phylogenetic Relationship of Indian Isolates of Bluetongue Virus Serotype 1 and Other Serotypes from Different Parts of the World

DNA Sequence ◽

10.1080/10425170400012941 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 15 (5-6) ◽

pp. 351-361 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Swati Dahiya ◽

G. Prasad ◽

Minakshi ◽

Ramesh C. Kovi

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Relationship ◽

Bluetongue Virus ◽

Vp2 Gene ◽

Virus Serotype ◽

The World ◽

Indian Isolates ◽

Serotype 1 ◽

Relationship Of ◽

Different Parts

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Performance of clinical signs to detect bluetongue virus serotype 8 outbreaks in cattle and sheep during the 2006-epidemic in The Netherlands

Veterinary Microbiology ◽

10.1016/j.vetmic.2007.10.034 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 129 (1-2) ◽

pp. 156-162 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

A.R.W. Elbers ◽

A. Backx ◽

H.M. Ekker ◽

A.N. van der Spek ◽

P.A. van Rijn

Keyword(s):

The Netherlands ◽

Bluetongue Virus ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Virus Serotype ◽

Cattle And Sheep

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Clinical signs of bluetongue virus serotype 8 infection in sheep and goats

Veterinary Record ◽

10.1136/vr.161.17.591 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 161 (17) ◽

pp. 591-592 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

A. Backx ◽

C. G. Heutink ◽

E. M. A. Van Rooij ◽

P. A. Van Rijn

Keyword(s):

Bluetongue Virus ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Sheep And Goats ◽

Virus Serotype

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Transmission of Bluetongue Virus Serotype 8 by Artificial Insemination with Frozen–Thawed Semen from Naturally Infected Bulls

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13040652 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 652

Author(s):

Kris De Clercq ◽

Leen Vandaele ◽

Tine Vanbinst ◽

Mickaël Riou ◽

Isra Deblauwe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Viral Load ◽

Artificial Insemination ◽

Bluetongue Virus ◽

Pregnancy Loss ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

The Other ◽

Bovine Semen ◽

Frozen Semen ◽

Virus Serotype ◽

Gestational Stage

Transmission of bluetongue (BT) virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) via artificial insemination of contaminated frozen semen from naturally infected bulls was investigated in two independent experiments. Healthy, BT negative heifers were hormonally synchronized and artificially inseminated at oestrus. In total, six groups of three heifers received semen from four batches derived from three bulls naturally infected with BTV-8. Each experiment included one control heifer that was not inseminated and that remained BT negative throughout. BTV viraemia and seroconversion were determined in 8 out of 18 inseminated heifers, and BTV was isolated from five of these animals. These eight heifers only displayed mild clinical signs of BT, if any at all, but six of them experienced pregnancy loss between weeks four and eight of gestation, and five of them became BT PCR and antibody positive. The other two infected heifers gave birth at term to two healthy and BT negative calves. The BT viral load varied among the semen batches used and this had a significant impact on the infection rate, the time of onset of viraemia post artificial insemination, and the gestational stage at which pregnancy loss occurred. These results, which confirm unusual features of BTV-8 infection, should not be extrapolated to infection with other BTV strains without thorough evaluation. This study also adds weight to the hypothesis that the re-emergence of BTV-8 in France in 2015 may be attributable to the use of contaminated bovine semen.

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An outbreak of bluetongue virus serotype 9 in Southern Croatia

Acta Veterinaria Brno ◽

10.2754/avb201180040331 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 80 (4) ◽

pp. 331-336 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eddy Listeš ◽

Sanja Bosnić ◽

Miroslav Benić ◽

Josip Madić ◽

Željko Cvetnić ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bluetongue Virus ◽

Neutralization Test ◽

Light Trap ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Virus Serotype ◽

Serum Neutralization Test ◽

First Time ◽

Obsoletus Complex

The aim of this study was to provide a description of the first epidemic of bluetongue and the first survey on midges of the genus Culicoides in Croatia. Clinical signs were firstly observed on November 2001 in sheep in Konavle, Dubrovnik – Neretva County. During this epizootic the overall sheep morbidity and mortality were 5.2% (95% confidence interval (c.i.), 4.1-6.6%) and 2.29% (95% c.i., 1.6-3.3%), respectively. After the outbreak, 3,318 serum samples of ruminants from 53 villages of the Dubrovnik – Neretva County were examined for bluetongue virus (BTV) antibodies by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). In forty nine (92.45%, 95% c.i., 82.11-96.92%) of the 53 villages, animals with antibodies against bluetongue virus were found. In particular, a total of 178 cattle (49.86%, 95% c.i., 44.7-55.0%), 174 sheep (13.72%, 95% c.i., 11.9-15.7%) and 270 goats (15.95%, 95% c.i., 14.3-17.8%) were seropositive. Antibodies to bluetongue virus serotype 9 were detected in 212 positive sera by serum neutralization test. The percentage of positive animals decreased (P > 0.05) from the east to the west suggesting a possible east westward spreading of BTV infection. Fourteen light-trap midge collections from seven different sites were examined. Of the 4872 Culicoides spp. collected, 4,492 (92%, 95% c.i., 91.4-92.9%) of them belonged to the species of Obsoletus complex. This study showed for the first time that a pathogenic strain of BTV-9, probably from Montenegro, entered Croatia causing disease and death in local sheep and that C. obsoletus and C. scoticus were likely the major vectors of infection.

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Efficacy of three inactivated vaccines against bluetongue virus serotype 8 in sheep

Vaccine ◽

10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.04.056 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 27 (31) ◽

pp. 4169-4175 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Michael Eschbaumer ◽

Bernd Hoffmann ◽

Patricia König ◽

Jens P. Teifke ◽

Jörn M. Gethmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bluetongue Virus ◽

Virus Serotype ◽

Inactivated Vaccines

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Phylogenetic analysis of bluetongue virus serotype 4 field isolates from Argentina

Journal of General Virology ◽

10.1099/vir.0.046896-0 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 94 (3) ◽

pp. 652-662 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

D. Legisa ◽

F. Gonzalez ◽

G. De Stefano ◽

A. Pereda ◽

M. J. Dus Santos

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analysis ◽

Bluetongue Virus ◽

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

South American ◽

Sequence Comparisons ◽

Major Barrier ◽

Field Isolates ◽

A Genome ◽

Virus Serotype

Bluetongue is an insect-transmitted viral disease of ruminant species, which represents a major barrier to the international trade of animals and their products. Bluetongue virus (BTV) has a genome composed of ten linear segments of dsRNA, which code for at least ten different viral proteins. In South America, serological evidence for the presence of BTV has been found in Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile. Brazil and Argentina are the only South American countries where BTV has been isolated. In Brazil, only one BTV isolate, serotype 12, has been reported, whereas in Argentina five BTV serotype 4 isolates have been obtained from cattle without clinical signs. Three of these five isolates were isolated during 1999–2001, whereas two of them were obtained as part of the present work. This study describes sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses of segment (Seg)-2, Seg-3, Seg-6, Seg-7 and Seg-10 of the first Argentinian field isolates of BTV. The analysis of Seg-2 and Seg-6 resulted in a single cluster of Argentinian sequences into the serotype 4 clade. In addition, the Argentinian sequences grouped within the nucleotype A clade, along with reference strains. The analysis of Seg-3, Seg-7 and Seg-10 showed that the Argentinian isolates grouped into the western topotype, indicating that the circulating virus had an African/European origin. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Argentinian sequences present a South American genetic identity, suggesting an independent lineage evolution.

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Nearly Complete Genome Sequences of Two Bluetongue Viruses Isolated during the 2020 Outbreak in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Microbiology Resource Announcements ◽

10.1128/mra.00210-21 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (14) ◽

Author(s):

Frank Vandenbussche ◽

Manon Bourg ◽

Elisabeth Mathijs ◽

David J. Lefebvre ◽

Ilse De Leeuw ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Complete Genome ◽

Bluetongue Virus ◽

Animal Health ◽

Genome Sequences ◽

Virus Serotype ◽

The World ◽

World Organisation ◽

Grand Duchy

ABSTRACT Bluetongue is one of the major diseases of ruminants listed by the World Organisation for Animal Health. Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) has been considered enzootic in France since 2018. Here, we report the nearly complete genome sequences of two BTV-8 isolates from the 2020 outbreak in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

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