title: Emergence of bluetongue virus serotype 6 in Europe--German field data and experimental infection of cattle.
abstract: In late 2008, bluetongue virus (BTV) serotype 6 (BTV-6), which had never occurred in Europe before, was first detected in the Netherlands and Germany. While the origin of the virus remains unknown, the prevalence of infections in cattle was investigated in a virological (N=28,658) and serological (N=2075) field survey in Lower Saxony, where 45 cases confined to the district Grafschaft Bentheim were found. Blood from affected animals was used for the experimental infection of three cattle with different BTV antibody status, leading to sustained viraemia in one animal naïve for BTV. Of two animals that had detectable antibodies against BTV serotype 8, one became transiently infected and seroconverted for BTV-6 while the other did not react. In conclusion, while only a very limited spread of BTV-6 could be observed in the field, experimental infection of cattle did not show substantial differences of the course of infection in comparison to other BTV serotypes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eschbaumer
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Savini
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: König
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zemke
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Conraths
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001819:Bluetongue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000145:classification*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D012703:Serotyping; D012756:Sheep; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D014765:Viral Vaccines