title: Isolation and identification of arboviruses from the Sultanate of Oman.
abstract: Sentinel herds and a vector surveillance system were used to identify the presence of arboviruses in Oman. Two strains of bluetongue virus (BTV) serotype 4 and two strains of Akabane virus, were isolated and identified. Both BTV isolates and one Akabane virus isolate came from goats while the second Akabane isolate came from Culicoides imicola. This is the first isolation of an Akabane virus from Culicoides in Arabia. Vector competence studies with the Oman viruses in laboratory reared C. variipennis showed that after oral infection both viruses replicated in Culicoides and were maintained at high titre for at least 10 days post infection.
authors.affiliation: AFRC Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright Laboratory, Woking, Surrey, UK.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: al-Busaidy
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Mellor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001102:Arbovirus Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001819:Bluetongue / Q000382:microbiology; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002044:Bunyaviridae Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D002519:Ceratopogonidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D006041:Goats; D005779:Immunodiffusion; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D009850:Oman; D012840:Simbu virus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014779:Virus Replication