Bluetongue
Bluetongue (BT) is a disease in ruminants caused by an Orbivirus that is transmitted by midges. There are at least 24 serotypes of Bluetongue virus (BTV). Wageningen Bioveterinary Research conducts research on this disease.
Infection
Infected midges naturally infect domestic and wild ruminants (for example, sheep, cattle, goats and deer) and camelids (such as the llama and alpaca) by bites during feeding. Cattle show higher and longer viraemia than sheep, but the disease is seen more frequently and more severe in sheep (depending on the serotype of BTV).
Bluetongue does not affect humans so there are no public health implications.
Inflammation around the mouth
The disease is characterized by inflammation of the mucus membranes around the mouth and nose, this inflammation causes the rarely seen 'blue tongue' that gives the disease its name.
Spread of Bluetongue
In Europe, the spread of Bluetongue virus was formerly associated to the presence of Culicoides imicola. In 2006 it became clear that BTV could also be spread by endemic species of Culicoides in Northern parts of Europe.

Publications
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Safety and efficacy of inactivated African horse sickness (AHS) vaccine formulated with different adjuvants
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Prospects of Next-Generation Vaccines for Bluetongue
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Vector competence is strongly affected by a small deletion or point mutations in bluetongue virus
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Virus-induced autophagic degradation of STAT2 as a mechanism for interferon signaling blockade
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Novel function of Bleutongue Virus NS3 Protein in Regulation of the MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathway
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Diagnostic DIVA tests accompanying the Disabled Infectious Single Animal (DISA) vaccine platform for African horse sickness
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African horse sickness virus (AHSV) with a deletion of 77 amino acids in NS3/NS3a protein is not virulent and a safe promising AHS Disabled Infectious Single Animal (DISA) vaccine platform
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One after the other : A novel Bluetongue virus strain related to Toggenburg virus detected in the Piedmont region (North-western Italy), extends the panel of novel atypical BTV strains
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Farmers' Preferences For Bluetongue Vaccination Scheme Attributes : An Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Approach
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Perceived risk and personality traits explaining heterogeneity in Dutch dairy farmers’ beliefs about vaccination against Bluetongue