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

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.