Katsoulos Panagiotis-Dimitrios, Giadinis Nektarios D, Chaintoutis Serafeim C, Dovas Chrysostomos I, Kiossis Evangelos, Tsousis Georgios, Psychas Vassilios, Vlemmas Ioannis, Papadopoulos Theologos, Papadopoulos Orestis, Zientara Stéphan, Karatzias Harilaos, Boscos Constantinos
Clinic of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2016 Mar;48(3):469-77. doi: 10.1007/s11250-015-0974-5. Epub 2016 Jan 14.
During 2014, an outbreak of Bluetongue virus (BTV) infections attributed to serotype 4 occurred in Greece and spread to south-eastern Europe. In the present article, the clinical and epidemiological data of 15 sheep flocks and 5 dairy cattle herds affected in Greece are described. In sheep, the most frequent clinical signs observed were fever, hyporexia, and edema of the face. A number of clinically affected sheep had chronic laminitis resulting in chronic lameness. Confirmation of suspect clinical cases was performed using BTV-specific real-time RT-PCR, and serotype 4-specific RT-PCR. The average morbidity of bluetongue in the sheep flocks was estimated to be 15.3 % (95 % C.I. 6.8-23.8 %) and the average mortality and case fatality were 4.5 % (95 % C.I. 1.5-7.6 %) and 32.0 % (95 % C.I. 18.1-42.9 %), respectively. The BTV seroprevalence and the ratio of clinical manifestations-to-infections determined in seven of these flocks, were on average 36.5 % (95 % C.I. 15.7-57.3 %) and 24.6 % (95 % C.I. 12.8-36.3 %). BTV ratio of clinical manifestations-to-infections was higher in the imported western European sheep breeds examined compared to the local ones. In dairy cattle, the average herd prevalence of viremia was 48.8 % (95 % C.I. 15.3-82.4 %) and none had signs associated with bluetongue. The results of this study indicate that the 2014 Greek BTV-4 has significant impact on the health status and the viability of sheep in affected flocks but does not cause clinical signs in cattle, despite the high prevalence of viremia.
2014年期间，希腊暴发了由4型血清型引起的蓝舌病病毒（BTV）感染，并蔓延至东南欧。在本文中，描述了希腊15个绵羊群和5个奶牛群受影响的临床和流行病学数据。在绵羊中，观察到的最常见临床症状为发热、食欲减退和面部水肿。一些临床受影响的绵羊患有慢性蹄叶炎，导致慢性跛行。使用BTV特异性实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）和4型血清型特异性RT-PCR对疑似临床病例进行确诊。绵羊群中蓝舌病的平均发病率估计为15.3%（95%置信区间6.8 - 23.8%），平均死亡率和病死率分别为4.5%（95%置信区间1.5 - 7.6%）和32.0%（95%置信区间18.1 - 42.9%）。在其中7个羊群中确定的BTV血清阳性率以及临床表现与感染的比率，平均分别为36.5%（95%置信区间15.7 - 57.3%）和24.6%（95%置信区间12.8 - 36.3%）。与本地绵羊品种相比，在所检测的进口西欧绵羊品种中，BTV临床表现与感染的比率更高。在奶牛中，病毒血症的平均群体患病率为48.8%（95%置信区间15.3 - 82.4%），且没有奶牛出现与蓝舌病相关的症状。本研究结果表明，2014年希腊的BTV - 4对受影响羊群中绵羊的健康状况和生存能力有重大影响，但尽管病毒血症患病率很高，却未在奶牛中引起临床症状。
