Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Hygiene logoLink to The Journal of Hygiene
. 1985 Aug;95(1):149–158. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400062380

Possible windborne spread to western Turkey of bluetongue virus in 1977 and of Akabane virus in 1979.

R F Sellers, D E Pedgley
PMCID: PMC2129499  PMID: 2862205

Abstract

An outbreak of bluetongue in sheep started in the Menderes valley, Aydin Province, Western Turkey, in October 1977. The severity of the disease indicated that it had not been there before but had been introduced into the area. Analysis showed that, while it was possible for the virus to have been brought into the area by movement of infected animals, there was also a period of south-easterly winds which could have carried infected midges from Cyprus, where bluetongue was present. During the night of 14-15 October 1977, south-easterly winds could have brought midges infected with bluetongue virus for the 15 h flight at a height possibly of 500 m and at temperatures of about 20 degrees C. A depression moving north-eastwards accompanied by rain may have affected the landing of midges in the Menderes valley on the morning of 15 October. An outbreak of arthrogryposis-hydranencephaly in newly born calves occurred in March-May 1980, also in the Menderes valley, Aydin Province. The severity of the outbreak indicated that Akabane virus had not been in the area before but had been introduced in September-November the previous year. While infected animals could have brought the virus into the area, analysis based on the probable time of infection of pregnant dams showed that easterly winds at the end of September or beginning of October 1979 could have brought insects infected with Akabane virus into the Menderes valley from eastern Turkey or northern Syria. These analyses illustrate the use of meteorological data to backtrack to possible sources and to identify the time of infection.

Full text

PDF
149

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Della-Porta A. J., Murray M. D., Cybinski D. H. Congenital bovine epizootic arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly in Australia. Distribution of antibodies to Akabane virus in Australian Cattle after the 1974 epizootic. Aust Vet J. 1976 Nov;52(11):496–501. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1976.tb06983.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Goldsmit L., Barzilai E., Tadmor A. The comparative sensitivity of sheep and chicken embryos to bluetongue virus and observations on viraemia in experimentally infected sheep. Aust Vet J. 1975 Apr;51(4):190–196. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1975.tb00053.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gumm I. D., Taylor W. P., Roach C. J., Alexander F. C., Greiner E. C., Gibbs E. P. Serological survey of ruminants in some Caribbean and South American countries for type-specific antibody to bluetongue and epizootic haemorrhagic disease viruses. Vet Rec. 1984 Jun 30;114(26):635–638. doi: 10.1136/vr.114.26.635. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Jennings M., Boorman J. P., Ergün H. Culicoides from Western Turkey in relation to bluetongue disease of sheep and cattle. Rev Elev Med Vet Pays Trop. 1983;36(1):67–70. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kurogi H., Inaba Y., Takahashi E., Sato K., Satoda K. Congenital abnormalities in newborn calves after inoculation of pregnant cows with Akabane virus. Infect Immun. 1977 Aug;17(2):338–343. doi: 10.1128/iai.17.2.338-343.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Luedke A. J., Jochim M. M., Jones R. H. Bluetongue in cattle: effects of Culicoides variipennis-transmitted bluetongue virus on pregnant heifers and their calves. Am J Vet Res. 1977 Nov;38(11):1687–1695. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Nevill E. M. Cattle and Culicoides biting midges as possible overwintering hosts of bluetongue virus. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1971 Jun;38(2):65–71. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Pedgley D. E., Tucker M. R. Possible spread of African horse sickness on the wind. J Hyg (Lond) 1977 Oct;79(2):279–298. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400053109. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Polydorou K. The 1977 outbreak of bluetongue in Cyprus. Trop Anim Health Prod. 1978 Nov;10(4):229–232. doi: 10.1007/BF02235349. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Sellers R. F. Bluetongue in Cyprus. Aust Vet J. 1975 Apr;51(4):198–203. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1975.tb00055.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Sellers R. F., Gibbs E. P., Herniman K. A., Pedgley D. E., Tucker M. R. Possible origin of the bluetongue epidemic in Cyprus, August 1977. J Hyg (Lond) 1979 Dec;83(3):547–555. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400026401. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Sellers R. F., Herniman K. A. Neutralising antibodies to Akabane virus in ruminants in Cyprus. Trop Anim Health Prod. 1981 Feb;13(1):57–60. doi: 10.1007/BF02237891. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sellers R. F. Weather, host and vector--their interplay in the spread of insect-borne animal virus diseases. J Hyg (Lond) 1980 Aug;85(1):65–102. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400027108. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Shimshony S. An epizootic of Akabane disease in bovines, ovines and caprines in Israel, 1969-70: epidemiological assessment. Acta Morphol Acad Sci Hung. 1980;28(1-2):197–199. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Yonguç A. D., Taylor W. P., Csontos L., Worrall E. Bluetongue in western Turkey. Vet Rec. 1982 Aug 14;111(7):144–146. doi: 10.1136/vr.111.7.144. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Hygiene are provided here courtesy of Cambridge University Press

RESOURCES