title: Emergence of bluetongue serotypes in Europe, part 2: the occurrence of a BTV-11 strain in Belgium.
abstract: An EDTA-blood sample from a cow without clinical signs, which gave early birth to a newborn calf that died soon after delivery, was shown to be positive for bluetongue virus (BTV)-RNA using a group-specific real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR). In-house serotype-specific RT-qPCR assays for bluetongue virus serotype 1 (BTV-1), -6 and -8 all gave negative results. Subsequent assays were carried out using conventional (gel-based) RT-PCR primers for all 25 BTV serotypes and only two primer sets, both specific for BTV-11, gave bands of the expected size. The cDNAs generated were sequenced and comparisons of the genome segment 2 sequence with that of the modified 'live' vaccine strain of BTV-11 from South Africa showed 100% identity. A survey of all ruminants in a 1-km area around the first positive farm using a BTV-11 serotype-specific RT-qPCR revealed five other holdings with in total nine BTV-11 positive animals. A cross-sectional monitoring of dairy cattle in Belgium showed an overall prevalence of 3.8% on herd level and 0.2% on animal level. A BTV-11 has been introduced into the Belgian cattle herd during the 2008 vector season. The source of the infection and the way by which the virus was introduced are unknown.
authors.affiliation: Section Development of Diagnostic Tools for Epizootic Diseases, Department of Virology, Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Ukkel, Belgium. krdec@var.fgov.be
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: De Clercq
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mertens
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Leeuw
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oura
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Houdart
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authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Potgieter
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hooyberghs
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Batten
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vandemeulebroucke
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maan
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Riocreux
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vanderstede
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nomikou
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raemaekers
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bin-Tarif
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henstock
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bréard
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dubois
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gastaldi-Thiéry
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zientara
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Verheyden
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vandenbussche
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D001819:Bluetongue / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003612:Dairying; D005260:Female; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012621:Seasons; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral