Bluetongue is an insect-borne viral disease and was recently introduced in Zuid-Limburg, the Netherlands.
August 14, 2006: First suspicion of BTV in the Netherlands
August 15 2006: BTV confirmed by CIDC-Lelystad by RT-PCR and serology
August 17 2006: BTV in the Netherlands confirmed by IAH Pirbright.
August 19, 2006: Bluetongue found in Belgium
August 21, 2006: Bluetongue found in Germany
August 28, 2006: Bluetongue virus in the Netherlands is serotype 8.
Bluetongue virus causing disease in the Netherlands is serotype 8.
The bluetongue virus (BTV) that occurred the past few weeks in the Netherlands, does not originate from southern Europe as previously suggested.
Scientists of Bluetongue European Community Reference Laboratory, the Institute for Animal Health's (IAH) Pirbright UK, have shown that the bluetongue virus causing disease in the Netherlands is serotype 8. This is remarkable, because this serotype has not previously been identified in Europe.
A phylogenetic analysis by IAH shows that the found virus is a western virus, most closely resembling those of sub-Saharan Africa, closely resembling a isolate found in 1982 in Nigeria.