How do you treat bluetongue in cattle?
There is no specific treatment for animals with bluetongue apart from rest, provision of soft food, and good husbandry. Complicating and secondary infections should be treated appropriately during the recovery period.
How is bluetongue prevented?
Vaccination is the best way to protect animals from the Bluetongue virus. You should discuss with your vet whether vaccination would benefit your business. You need to get a general licence to vaccinate your animals if they’re outside a restricted zone for bluetongue.
What causes bluetongue in cattle?
The disease is non-contagious and is only transmitted by insect vectors (midges of the Culicoides species). The disease is caused by a virus belonging to the family Reoviridae. Bluetongue virus is a notifiable disease in many countries.
What does Bluetongue virus do?
Bluetongue is a non-contagious, viral disease spread by biting insects. It affects species of ruminants, particularly sheep. Bluetongue causes many different symptoms in affected animals, including ulcers, sores, painful hooves, lameness and reproductive problems.
How is Bluetongue diagnosed?
Diagnosis is based upon clinical signs, virus detection via PCR and/or seroconversion to bluetongue virus. Treatment is limited to antibiotic therapy to control secondary bacterial infections.
How is Bluetongue transmitted?
Bluetongue (BT) is a non-contagious, viral disease affecting domestic and wild ruminants (primarily sheep and including cattle, goats, buffalo, antelope, deer, elk and camels) that is transmitted by insects, particularly biting midges of the Culicoides species.
What is blue tongue in sheep?
Bluetongue is an insect-borne, viral disease primarily of sheep, occasionally goats and deer and, very rarely, cattle. The disease is non-contagious and is only transmitted by insect vectors. The disease is caused by a virus belonging to the family Reoviridae.
Is bluetongue a zoonotic disease?
Importantly, BT is not zoonotic. Bluetongue virus (BTV) infection of ruminants and vector Culicoides midges is endemic throughout many tropical and temperate regions of the world; however, within this global range the virus exists within relatively discrete ecosystems (syn.
Which route is employed for cultivation of bluetongue virus?
It was shown that the IV route of inoculation was about 100- to 1,000-fold more sensitive than the YS route; also, by the IV route, virus isolation was more rapid and assays were more clear cut. About 30% of virus isolations from field samples obtained by the IV route were missed when the YS route was used.