Towards understanding bluetongue outbreaksAugust 15, 2008A recent article published in Virology (www.elsevier.com/locate/yviro), reports the identification of a bluetongue virus strain that caused the northern European Bluetongue outbreak in 2006. Comparison of the virus strain with the sequences of other previously isolated strains showed that it originated in sub-Saharan Africa, rather than from vaccine strains or strains circulating in southern Europe. Bluetongue (BT) disease or catarrhal fever is a non-contagious, insect borne viral disease of ruminants, mainly sheep. It is characterized by high fever, excessive salivation, swelling of the head and neck which can lead to cyanosis of the tongue (after which the disease is named). BT is caused by the bluetongue virus (BTV) and due to its economic significance BTV has been the subject of extensive molecular, genetic and structural studies. The disease has been observed in Australia, the USA, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and southern Europe. Its occurrence is seasonal in the affected countries, subsiding when temperature drop and hard frosts kill the midges that transmit the disease. It has been spreading northward since the late 90s, perhaps as a result of global warming. In August 2006, the record temperatures experienced in northern Europe coincided with the first outbreak of BT in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and much of Germany. In the article Peter Mertens and 24 co-authors from six different institutes describe the sequence analysis of the full genome of this BTV strain and compare it to other BTV strains (Virology, doi:10.1016/j.virol.2008.04.028). Their results indicate that despite the high levels of nucleotide identity with other European strains, it represents a new strain introduction, originating from sub-Saharan Africa.
"Such timely and increasingly important insights into the origins of emerging viruses will lead not only to an increased understanding of how viruses like BTV spread, but also to rational vaccine development", said Barbara Sherry, one of the Editors of Virology. Elsevier | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Bluetongue Current Events and Bluetongue News Articles How does bluetongue virus survive through the winter? In 2006, Bluetongue virus - which infects livestock - reached Northern Europe for the first time. Some people thought that the outbreak would be limited to that particular year, as winter was expected to kill off the midges that host and spread the disease, bringing the threat of infection to an end. In actuality, the disease escalated in the following year, spreading to the UK. So, how did the virus survive the winter? Toll of climate change on world food supply could be worse than thought Global agriculture, already predicted to be stressed by climate change in coming decades, could go into steep, unanticipated declines in some regions due to complications that scientists have so far inadequately considered, say three new scientific reports. IAH at the BA Festival: bluetongue virus moves into Europe After this summerˇ¦s record temperatures, UK sheep could soon be at risk from a deadly virus that is spreading north throughout Europe. The effect of climate change on the distribution of infectious disease will be discussed today (Tuesday 09 September 2003) at the BA festival of Science. Bluetongue is on the OIEˇ¦s "A" list of infectious diseases. Until recently most of Europe was protected from bluetongue by a natural boundary ˇV the climate. But the disease has killed over half a million sheep in southern Europe since 1998. Dr Philip Mellor of the Institute for Animal Health says, ˇ§We have studied the spread of the insect carrier of bluetongue virus (BTV) from North Institute for Animal Health at the BA: the changing world of animal disease Where do new diseases come from and how do they spread? The Institute for Animal Health will address these questions at the BA Festival of Science on Tuesday 09 September. A press conference will be held at 1100 hrs in the Newton Building, University of Salford. IAH appoints new Head of Epidemiology The Institute for Animal Health is pleased to announce that Dr Matthew Baylis has been appointed as Head of the Division of Epidemiology. Dr Baylis will take charge of a re-structured division responsible for experimental epidemiology and mathematical modelling of a number of infectious diseases across the Institute's three laboratories at Compton, Edinburgh and Pirbright. Dr Baylis joined the Institute in 1993 as a postdoctoral researcher, and became a research group leader in 2000. During this time he has made a significant impact in the development of mathematical models to predict the spread of BSE, scrapie, bluetongue, and African horse sickness. IAH Director Professor Paul-Pierre Pasto More Bluetongue Current Events and Bluetongue News Articles |
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