Bluetongue virus infection in farm dogs exposed to an infected sheep flock in South Africa

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dc.contributor.author Hanekom, Josef
dc.contributor.author Ebersohn, Karen
dc.contributor.author Penzhorn, Lisa
dc.contributor.author Quan, Melvyn
dc.contributor.author Leisewitz, Andrew L.
dc.contributor.author Guthrie, Alan John
dc.contributor.author Fosgate, Geoffrey Theodore
dc.date.accessioned 2024-08-06T11:44:51Z
dc.date.available 2024-08-06T11:44:51Z
dc.date.issued 2024-07
dc.description DATA AVAILABILITY : All data and additional information will be made available upon request and uploaded onto the University of Pretoria’s data repository. en_US
dc.description.abstract In 2021, a pregnant Rottweiler dog living on a sheep farm was diagnosed with clinical bluetongue (BT) infection. This study reports on the investigation of this farm where bluetongue virus (BTV) infection was diagnosed in this atypical host species. Samples were collected during farm visits 14, 28, 60, and 89 days after the onset of clinical signs in the pregnant Rottweiler. Blood was collected from all farm dogs (n = 6) and tested for BTV genome using a reverse-transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assay and BTV antibodies with the competitive ELISA (cELISA) and dogs positive by RT-qPCR were further tested using virus neutralization (VN) serological testing. Blood was also collected from 16 sick sheep and tested using RT-qPCR. Midges were trapped on the study farm using an Onderstepoort UV light trap placed above a sheep pen for 36 hr at the first farm (14 days) visit. Parous/gravid midges were tested by BTV RT-qPCR in batches of up to 200 midges per species. Blood-fed midges (n = 308) were tested using a PCR species probe (KAPA Multiplex Master Mix) to identify the host species on which the midge had fed. Three dogs (n = 3/6) had detectable BTV RNA with RT-qPCR and high VN antibody titers to BTV. All RT-qPCR-positive dogs and one additional dog tested cELISA seropositive (n = 4/6). Bluetongue virus RNA was detected in 5/16 sheep tested. The most abundant midge species was Culicoides imicola (99.3%) and BTV was only detected in this species (n = 3/4 batches of 200 parous midges). Dog blood was not detected in any blood-fed midges tested. The occurrence of natural BT viraemia in exposed dogs creates a potential risk of BTV entry into BT-free countries through dog importation. It remains unclear whether BT viremia in dogs is capable of onward transmission. en_US
dc.description.department Companion Animal Clinical Studies en_US
dc.description.department Equine Research Centre en_US
dc.description.department Veterinary Tropical Diseases en_US
dc.description.librarian hj2024 en_US
dc.description.sdg SDG-03:Good heatlh and well-being en_US
dc.description.sponsorship University of Pretoria. en_US
dc.description.uri https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/18651682 en_US
dc.identifier.citation Hanekom, J., Ebersohn, K., Penzhorn, L. et al. 2024, 'Bluetongue virus infection in farm dogs exposed to an infected sheep flock in South Africa', Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, vol. 2024, art. 2446398, pp. 1-12, doi : 10.1155/2024/2446398. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1865-1674 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1865-1682 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1155/2024/2446398
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/97452
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Wiley en_US
dc.rights © 2024 Josef Hanekom et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. en_US
dc.subject Bluetongue virus (BTV) en_US
dc.subject Dogs (Canis familiaris) en_US
dc.subject Rottweiler dog en_US
dc.subject Sheep farm en_US
dc.subject South Africa (SA) en_US
dc.subject SDG-03: Good health and well-being en_US
dc.subject Reverse-transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) en_US
dc.subject Competitive ELISA (cELISA en_US
dc.title Bluetongue virus infection in farm dogs exposed to an infected sheep flock in South Africa en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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