Longitudinal monitoring of cattle infected by bluetongue virus serotype 3 on a commercial Holstein dairy farm in the Netherlands

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Since September 2023, bluetongue virus serotype 3 has been circulating in the Netherlands. Cattle can exhibit a range of clinical signs from sub-clinical to severe, but they are also known to play an important role as a virus reservoir in bluetongue epidemics. We closely monitored an outbreak on a commercial dairy herd by daily clinical inspection, sensor data and longitudinal biweekly real-time PCR testing. PCR testing was performed on 18 cattle from the start of the bluetongue virus serotype 3 outbreak until two consecutive blood samples tested negative, 24–28 weeks after the start of the monitoring. In conclusion, this case study has shown that sensor data can contribute to detecting bluetongue virus serotype 3-infected cattle. Furthermore, it appeared that the majority of cattle remained positive by real-time PCR for approximately 6 months from the start of the infection.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere70068
JournalVeterinary Record Case Reports
Volume13
Issue number2
Early online date8 Apr 2025
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). Veterinary Record Case Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Veterinary Association.

Funding

We want to acknowledge the staff of the Tolakker farm and many students for facilitating this study. We would like to thank the diagnostic and crisis organization (DCO) department at WBVR for processing the samples. This study was financially supported by ZuivelNL and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery, Food Safety and Nature under project WOT-01-002-041 VZVD.

Funders
Dutch Ministry of Agriculture
ZuivelNL
Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery, Food Safety and Nature

    Keywords

    • bluetongue
    • clinical practice
    • dairy cattle
    • disease investigation
    • RT-PCR techniques

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