Bluetongue is a disease affecting ruminants caused by the bluetongue virus and transmitted by midges. It can be controlled through quarantine, vaccination, and midge vector control. No cases of human infection have been reported.
Bluetongue is a non-contagious disease affecting ruminants, especially sheep. It is caused by the bluetongue virus (BTV) and transmitted by midges of the genus Culicoides. Bluetongue can devastate livestock populations, but no cases of human infection have been reported.
Bluetongue disease has been documented in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. It has been spreading northwards since October 1998. Bluetongue is seasonal in Mediterranean climates, where it subsides during the winter, as midges cannot survive the cold. Survival of the disease beyond the winter season is due either to midges surviving the winter in a dormant state or to transmission of the disease to the offspring of infected ruminants. In the latter case, the affected offspring would be asymptomatic carriers and would spread the disease to others via midges in the summer.
Bluetongue disease is so called because infected animals sometimes develop cyanosis, or blue discoloration, of the tongue. Other common symptoms include high fever, facial swelling, and excessive salivation. Some pets have other symptoms, such as a runny nose or difficulty breathing. In advanced cases, a pet with bluetongue disease may have head torsion and/or foot injuries so severe that they are unable to walk.
Some infected animals have no symptoms, but for those that do, the disease progresses rapidly. After an incubation period of five to twenty days, all symptoms usually appear within a month. In some breeds of sheep, the mortality rate reaches 90%, and the sickest animals can die within a week of the onset of symptoms. Recovery is often a months-long process.
There is no treatment for bluetongue disease, but it can be controlled through quarantine, vaccination, and midge vector control. Vaccinations are only available for some strains of BTV. The midges can be controlled by preventing the proliferation of midges breeding sites, often piles of manure and moist soil, and by sheltering the animals from dusk to dawn, when the midges are most active.
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