Transmission of Bluetongue Virus Serotype 8 by Artificial Insemination with Frozen-Thawed Semen from Naturally Infected Bulls.

Transmission of bluetongue (BT) virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) via artificial insemination of contaminated frozen semen from naturally infected bulls was investigated in two independent experiments. Healthy, BT negative heifers were hormonally synchronized and artificially inseminated at oestrus. In total, six groups of three heifers received semen from four batches derived from three bulls naturally infected with BTV-8.

Viral RNA load in semen from bluetongue serotype 8-infected rams: relationship with sperm quality.

This study investigated if viral RNA was detectable in the semen of rams clinically infected with bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) by RT-qPCR, and to what extent the amount detected may be predictive of sperm quality. Semen samples were collected on six occasions from 93 BTV-8 infected rams involved in two longitudinal (n=12 and 27, respectively) and one cross-sectional (n=54) field study. Semen quality was assessed in terms of mass motility, concentration of spermatozoa, percentage of living and dead spermatozoa as well as cytological features.

A duplex real-time RT-PCR for the detection of bluetongue virus in bovine semen.

The control measures prescribed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for international trade in extended semen implicate repeated free testing of the donor's blood for bluetongue virus (BTV). The aim of this study was to validate a real-time RT-PCR for the direct testing of semen for artificial insemination (AI). The amplification of the BTV target was combined with an internal control target in duplex format.

Bluetongue virus detection by real-time RT-PCR in Culicoides captured during the 2006 epizootic in Belgium and development of an internal control.

After the emergence of bluetongue (BT) in Belgium in 2006, two types of entomological surveys were initiated, the one to identify the local vector species, and the other to study their population dynamics. In the vector study, Culicoides were captured near farms with recently infected cattle or sheep; in the population study Culicoides were captured in two meadows situated in the BT-affected region. A total of 130 pools of parous, non-blood engorged female midges (with a mean of 7.