Breeding Sites of Bluetongue Virus Vectors, Belgium | CDC EID

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Volume 16, Number 3–March 2010
Letter
Breeding Sites of Bluetongue Virus Vectors, Belgium
Jean-Yves Zimmer, Claude Saegerman, Bertrand Losson, and Eric Haubruge
Author affiliation: University of Liege, Liege, Belgium

Suggested citation for this article

To the Editor: Bluetongue (BT) is an emerging disease of ruminants in northern Europe (1,2). This disease was reported in August 2006 in the Netherlands and a few days later in Belgium. In 2006, animals in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany were affected. In contrast to 2006, when BT virus (BTV) was identified in ≈2,000 enclosures on farms, BTV was identified in >40,000 farm buildings containing ruminants in 2007; many infected animals had severe disease. In addition, the virus expanded its range to include large areas of France, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic (2).

In 2008, BTV serotype 8 (BTV-8) continued its spread across Europe and showed virulence in France where 26,925 BTV-8 outbreaks were reported (3). This observation indicates possible overwintering of the vector from year to year. However, the mechanism of overwintering is not clear. The biting midges responsible for transmission of BTV in northern Europe belong to the genus Culicoides, but only few species are vectors of this virus (2).

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Suggested Citation for this Article
Zimmer J-Y, Saegerman C, Losson B, Haubruge E. Breeding sites of bluetongue virus vectors, Belgium [letter]. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 Mar [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/3/575.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1603.091311