title: A novel Bluetongue virus serotype 3 strain in Tunisia, November 2016.
abstract: Since 1998, southern Europe has experienced multiple incursions of different serotypes and topotypes of Bluetongue virus, a vector-borne transmitted virus, the causative agent of Bluetongue (BT), a major disease of ruminants. Some of these incursions originated from northern Africa, likely because of wind-blown dissemination of infected midges. In this report, we describe the detection and whole genome characterization of a novel BTV-3 strain identified in a symptomatic sheep in Tunisia. Sequences were immediately deposited with the GenBank Database under Accession Nos KY432369-KY432378. Alert and preparedness are requested to face the next vector seasons in northern Africa and the potential incursion of this novel strain in southern Europe.
authors.affiliation: Institut de la Recherche Vétérinaire de Tunisie, Laboratoire de virologie, Univérsité de Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sghaier
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise (IZSAM), Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6156-8212
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lorusso
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise (IZSAM), Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Portanti
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise (IZSAM), Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marcacci
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise (IZSAM), Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orsini
authors.affiliation: CRDA-Commissariats Régionaux au Développement Agricole, Menzel Bouzelfa, Tunisia.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Barbria
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise (IZSAM), Teramo, Italy.|CRDA-Commissariats Régionaux au Développement Agricole, Menzel Bouzelfa, Tunisia.|Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mahmoud
authors.affiliation: Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hammami
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise (IZSAM), Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petrini
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise (IZSAM), Teramo, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Savini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001819:Bluetongue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D012621:Seasons; D065288:Serogroup; D012756:Sheep; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Bluetongue serotype 3; Tunisia; whole genome sequencing