Tag: Bluetongue virus
Phylogenetic analysis suggests accidental release as a potential cause of bluetongue re-emergence
Research published in PLOS Biology suggests that the recent re-emergence of Bluetongue virus (BTV) in France could have been caused by human activities, based on the virus’ unusual genetic makeup. In the study, led by researchers at the University of Glasgow (UK) with a consortium of European collaborators, the authors compared genomes of the virus […]
Bluetongue virus strain and origin in 2016 Cyprus outbreak determined
In September 2016, suspected cases of bluetongue in sheep were simultaneously reported in three different locations in Cyprus. Scientists at the European Union Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue (EURL-BT) at The Pirbright Institute confirmed that BTV-8 was present in all samples submitted by the National Reference Laboratory in Nicosia, Cyprus. This was the first time that […]
Changing climate impacts bluetongue vectors
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute, Rothamsted Research, The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the Met Office have provided evidence that the UK midge season has extended over the last 40 years due to climate change. The findings could help scientists to make better predictions about how the spread of livestock diseases that are transmitted […]
Re-emerged strain of Bluetongue virus remains a threat in Europe
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have shown that the strain of Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) currently circulating in France poses a threat to susceptible animals in Europe, despite causing less clinical disease than the original BTV-8 strain responsible for the first UK bluetongue outbreak in 2007. The 2006-2009 European outbreak of BTV-8 was the […]
Limiting the spread of bluetongue in northern Europe
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have used mathematical modelling to identify why the 2007 UK outbreak of bluetongue was smaller than it could have been and to predict the future impact of the disease in northern Europe as the climate warms. A paper published in Scientific Reports suggests that a combination of geographic location, […]
First complete genome of the biting midge may lead to advances in control of arboviruses
Reseachers at The Pirbright Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute have generated and built the first complete Culicoides biting midge genome. These flies transmit a range of economically important animal viruses, including Bluetongue virus. “Providing the biting midge genome enables scientists to work out where important genes are located and in some cases what their […]