title: Epidemiological characteristics and clinicopathological features of bluetongue in sheep and cattle, during the 2014 BTV serotype 4 incursion in Greece.
abstract: During 2014, an outbreak of Bluetongue virus (BTV) infections attributed to serotype 4 occurred in Greece and spread to south-eastern Europe. In the present article, the clinical and epidemiological data of 15 sheep flocks and 5 dairy cattle herds affected in Greece are described. In sheep, the most frequent clinical signs observed were fever, hyporexia, and edema of the face. A number of clinically affected sheep had chronic laminitis resulting in chronic lameness. Confirmation of suspect clinical cases was performed using BTV-specific real-time RT-PCR, and serotype 4-specific RT-PCR. The average morbidity of bluetongue in the sheep flocks was estimated to be 15.3 % (95 % C.I. 6.8-23.8 %) and the average mortality and case fatality were 4.5 % (95 % C.I. 1.5-7.6 %) and 32.0 % (95 % C.I. 18.1-42.9 %), respectively. The BTV seroprevalence and the ratio of clinical manifestations-to-infections determined in seven of these flocks, were on average 36.5 % (95 % C.I. 15.7-57.3 %) and 24.6 % (95 % C.I. 12.8-36.3 %). BTV ratio of clinical manifestations-to-infections was higher in the imported western European sheep breeds examined compared to the local ones. In dairy cattle, the average herd prevalence of viremia was 48.8 % (95 % C.I. 15.3-82.4 %) and none had signs associated with bluetongue. The results of this study indicate that the 2014 Greek BTV-4 has significant impact on the health status and the viability of sheep in affected flocks but does not cause clinical signs in cattle, despite the high prevalence of viremia.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiotis-Dimitrios
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Katsoulos
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Nektarios D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Giadinis
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Serafeim C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chaintoutis
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece. dovas@vet.auth.gr.
authors.forename: Chrysostomos I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Dovas
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Evangelos
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kiossis
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tsousis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Psychas
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vlemmas
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Theologos
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Orestis
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.affiliation: UMR 1161 Virology, ANSES-INRA-ENVA, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, 23 avenue du Général de Gaulle, 94704, Maisons-Alfort, France.
authors.forename: Stéphan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zientara
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Harilaos
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karatzias
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Constantinos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boscos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001819:Bluetongue / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002417:Cattle; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012756:Sheep
keywords: Bluetongue virus; Cattle; Clinical signs; Greece; Serotype 4; Sheep