title: Evidence of Schmallenberg virus circulation in ruminants in Greece.
abstract: During March 2013, we investigated the presence and the levels of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) circulation in three dairy cow herds and three sheep flocks in Central Macedonia, Greece. In two cow herds, a high number of abortions had been observed during the winter. Six bulk-tank milk samples and 147 individual sera were screened for SBV-specific antibodies by ELISA. Positive reactions were obtained from 5 out of 6 bulk-tank milk samples, 58 out of 90 sera from the 3 cow herds, and 2 sera from 2 of the 3 sheep flocks. Twenty-two ELISA-positive sera were tested by serum neutralization test (SNT). SNT confirmed the presence of neutralizing antibodies against SBV in all samples tested, with titers ranging between 1:32 and ≥1:256. No neutralizing antibodies against Akabane virus (AKAV) or Shamonda virus (SHAV) were detected, indicating that neutralizing antibodies against SBV do not cross react with AKAV or SHAV in SNT. ELISA testing of bulk-tank milk samples proved to be convenient and reliable. None of the tested sera was found positive for SBV by real-time RT-PCR, indicating that the sampling was conducted past the viremia stage. This is the first report of SBV circulation in Greece.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Serafeim C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chaintoutis
authors.forename: Evangelos
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kiossis
authors.forename: Nektarios D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Giadinis
authors.forename: Christos N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Brozos
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sailleau
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Viarouge
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bréard
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Papanastassopoulou
authors.forename: Stéphan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zientara
authors.forename: Orestis
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.forename: Chrysostomos I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Dovas
mesh_terms: D000034:Abortion, Veterinary / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry; D002044:Bunyaviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D003612:Dairying; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D016851:Orthobunyavirus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012698:Serologic Tests; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral