Clinical disease in British sheep infected with an emerging strain of bluetongue virus serotype 3.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) was detected for the first time in cattle and sheep in southern England in 2023, the first UK BTV incursion for more than 15 years. Clinical signs were not observed, yet severe clinical disease and mortality were reported during recent BTV-3 outbreaks in northern Europe.

Methods

To investigate the clinical disease and infection kinetics associated with this UK BTV-3 strain, five British sheep were infected with a UK BTV-3 isolate using Culicoides biting midges. Clinical signs, pathology, infection dynamics, immune responses and Culicoides infection rates were assessed.

Results

All sheep were infected with BTV-3 and developed mild to moderate clinical bluetongue disease, characterised by fever, haemorrhagic diarrhoea, lame

SUBMITTER: Newbrook K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11827624 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature