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.

Indirect foot-and-mouth disease vaccine potency testing based on a serological alternative.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine potency testing has historically been performed by experimentally infecting vaccinated cattle. A few alternative approaches to the in vivo challenge test based on the correlation between serum titres of primo-vaccinated cattle and protection against infection have been proposed, but none have been accepted by the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph.Eur.

Evaluation of antibody-ELISA and real-time RT-PCR for the diagnosis and profiling of bluetongue virus serotype 8 during the epidemic in Belgium in 2006.

In 2006 bluetongue (BT) emerged for the first time in North-Western Europe. Reliable diagnostic tools are essential in controlling BT but data on the diagnostic sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) are often missing. This paper aims to describe and analyse the results obtained with the diagnostics used in Belgium during the 2006 BT crisis.