Role of wild ruminants in the epidemiology of bluetongue virus serotypes 1, 4 and 8 in Spain
View/Open
Author
García-Bocanegra, Ignacio
Arenas-Montes, Antonio
Lorca-Oró, Cristina
González, Miguel Ángel
Napp, Sebastián
Gómez-Guillamón, Félix
Zorrilla, Irene
San Miguel, Elena
Arenas, Antonio
Publication date
2011-07-23ISSN
0928-4249
Abstract
Although the importance of wild ruminants as potential reservoirs of bluetongue virus (BTV) has been suggested,
the role played by these species in the epidemiology of BT in Europe is still unclear. We carried out a serologic
and virologic survey to assess the role of wild ruminants in the transmission and maintenance of BTV in Andalusia
(southern Spain) between 2006 and 2010.
A total of 473 out of 1339 (35.3%) wild ruminants analyzed showed antibodies against BTV by both ELISA and
serum neutralization test (SNT). The presence of neutralizing antibodies to BTV-1 and BTV-4 were detected in the
four species analyzed (red deer, roe deer, fallow deer and mouflon), while seropositivity against BTV-8 was found in
red deer, fallow deer and mouflon but not in roe deer. Statistically significant differences were found among
species, ages and sampling regions. BTV RNA was detected in twenty-one out of 1013 wild ruminants (2.1%)
tested. BTV-1 and BTV-4 RNA were confirmed in red deer and mouflon by specific rRT-PCR.
BTV-1 and BTV-4 seropositive and RNA positive wild ruminants, including juveniles and sub-adults, were detected
years after the last outbreak was reported in livestock. In addition, between the 2008/2009 and the 2010/2011
hunting seasons, the seroprevalence against BTV-1, BTV-4 and BTV-8 increased in the majority of provinces, and
these serotypes were detected in many areas where BTV outbreaks were not reported in domestic ruminants. The
results indicate that wild ruminants seem to be implicated in the dissemination and persistence of BTV in Spain.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
619 - Veterinary science
Pages
7
Publisher
BMC
Is part of
Veterinary Research
Citation
García-Bocanegra, Ignacio, Antonio Arenas-Montes, Cristina Lorca-Oró, Joan Pujols, Miguel Ángel González, Sebastián Napp, Félix Gómez-Guillamón, Irene Zorrilla, Elena San Miguel, and Antonio Arenas. 2011. “Role of Wild Ruminants in the Epidemiology of Bluetongue Virus Serotypes 1, 4 and 8 in Spain.” Veterinary Research 42 (1): 88. doi:10.1186/1297-9716-42-88
Grant agreement number
INIA/Programa Nacional de Proyectos de Investigación Fundamental/FAU2008-00019-C03-01/ES/Epidemiología, control y aspectos entomológicos de la lengua azul (BTV) en rumiantes silvestres en España/
Program
Sanitat Animal
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2685]
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/