Curwen Alice, Jones Scott, Stayley Ceri, Eden Laura, McKay Heather, Davies Peers, Lovatt Fiona, Dunham Stephen, Tarlinton Rachael
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science University of Nottingham Leicestershire UK.
Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London London UK.
Vet Rec Open. 2022 Jun 20;9(1):e39. doi: 10.1002/vro2.39. eCollection 2022 Dec.
Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a midge-borne arbovirus that first emerged in the European ruminant population in 2011 and has since settled to an endemic pattern of disease outbreaks on an approximately 4-year cycle when herd immunity from the previous circulation drops to a point allowing renewed widescale virus circulation. The impacts of trade restrictions on genetic products (semen, embryos) from affected areas were severe, particularly after the discovery that the virus is intermittently shed in the semen of a small number of bulls. The trade in small ruminant (ram and goat) semen is less than that of bulls; nonetheless, there has been no study into the shedding rate of SBV in ram semen.
Semen samples ( = 65) were collected as part of UK ram trials and artificial insemination studies around the period of the 2016-2018 SBV recirculation. Semen was preserved in RNA for shipping, and RNA extraction with RNeasy and S gene RT-quantitative PCR performed for SBV nucleic acid detection.
No SBV RNA was detected in any samples.
While larger numbers of animals would be needed to completely exclude the possibility of SBV shedding in ram semen, this trial nonetheless highlights that this is likely a rare event if it occurs at all and is unlikely to play a role in disease transmission.
施马伦贝格病毒（SBV）是一种由蠓传播的虫媒病毒，于2011年首次在欧洲反刍动物群体中出现，此后当先前流行产生的群体免疫下降到允许病毒再次大规模传播的程度时，疾病爆发呈约4年的地方病模式。贸易限制对来自疫区的遗传产品（精液、胚胎）的影响严重，尤其是在发现该病毒在少数公牛的精液中间歇性排出之后。小型反刍动物（公羊和山羊）精液的贸易量低于公牛精液；尽管如此，尚未有关于SBV在公羊精液中排出率的研究。
作为英国公羊试验和2016 - 2018年SBV再次流行期间人工授精研究的一部分，收集了65份精液样本。精液保存在RNA中用于运输，并使用RNeasy进行RNA提取，通过S基因RT - 定量PCR检测SBV核酸。
在任何样本中均未检测到SBV RNA。
虽然需要更多数量的动物才能完全排除SBV在公羊精液中排出的可能性，但该试验仍突出表明，即便这种情况确实发生，也可能是罕见事件，并且不太可能在疾病传播中起作用。
