Bluetongue Virus in Red Deer | CDC EID

EID Journal Home > Volume 16, Number 3–March 2010

Volume 16, Number 3–March 2010
Dispatch
Bluetongue Virus Serotypes 1 and 4 in Red Deer, Spain
Belén Rodríguez-Sánchez, Christian Gortázar, Francisco Ruiz-Fons, and José M. Sánchez-Vizcaíno
Author affiliations: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (B. Rodríguez-Sánchez, J.M. Sánchez-Vizcaíno); Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC, Ciudad Real, Spain (C. Gortázar); and Department of Animal Health, Berreaga, Derio, Bizkaia, Spain (F. Ruiz-Fons)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
We studied the potential of red deer as bluetongue maintenance hosts and sentinels. Deer maintained detectable bluetongue virus (BTV) serotype 4 RNA for 1 year after the virus was cleared from livestock. However, the virus was not transmitted to yearlings. BTV serotype 1 RNA was detected in red deer immediately after its first detection in cattle.
Bluetongue (BT) is a vector-borne disease caused by a virus belonging to the genus Orbivirus, with 24 known serotypes (1). Since 2000, four of these seroptypes have been found in Spain on 5 occasions: 1) Bluetongue virus serotype 2 (BTV-2) was detected in 2000 in the Balearic Islands, 2) BTV-4 was detected in 2003 in the Balearic Islands, 3) a different BTV-4 strain was detected in 2004 in southern Spain, 4) BTV-1 was detected for the first time in 2007 in Spain, and 5) BTV-8 was detected in 2008 in Spain after it entered through the border with France. In livestock, BTV-4 was detected for the last time in November 2006, and the country was declared free of BTV-4 in March 2009 by the European Union Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (http://rasve.mapa.es/Publica/Noticias/Ficheros/Informe libre serotipo 4 final.pdf). Currently, all of Spain is considered a restriction zone for BTV-1 and -8.

Sheep are considered the most vulnerable species for BT, but other ruminants are known to play a major role in BT epidemiology. The role of wild ruminants in the spreading and persistence of the virus has only begun to be elucidated. Several studies have reported the presence of either BTV antibodies (2,3) or the virus (4) in red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), mouflons (Ovis aries), and several other wild bovids and cervids (2,5). The presence of BTV and BTV-specific antibodies in wild species underscores the role of these species, because, except for mouflons (4), European wild ruminants generally are asymptomatic hosts. The highest peak of stress occurs during the mating period (August–September in Spain), which is also the period of maximal activity for Culicoides imicola mosquitoes. Therefore, all of these facts, together with the capability of wild ruminants to overcome BT infection and their free-range life, make deer suitable for BTV maintenance. We hypothesize that 1) BTV RNA would be detectable in red deer even after its control in livestock by vaccination, and 2) the virus or specific antibodies would be detected in red deer early after its detection in livestock.

abrir aquí para acceder al documento CDC EID completo:
Bluetongue Virus in Red Deer | CDC EID

Suggested Citation for this Article
Rodríguez-Sánchez B, Gortázar C, Ruiz-Fons F, Sánchez-Vizcaíno JM. Bluetongue virus serotypes 1 and 4 in red deer, Spain. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 Mar [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/3/518.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1603.090626