Sheep and cow bluetongue in Algeria – 09/11/2006

Hi People.
Just sending this here to keep track of trucks spraying insecticide
and also animal/insect vector incidences.
I don’t see a specific alarm with this situation, it is simply good
to see what is coming down the road.
This is a recommencded site by Patricia Doyle.
Best to all,
Bridget

BLUETONGUE, OVINE, BOVINE – ALGERIA (M’SILA)
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Mon 11 Sep 2006
From: Joe Dudley <jdudley>
Source: AFP via Todayonline.com, 6 Sep 2006 [edited]

Bluetongue sheep disease found in Algeria
———————————————–
Algeria has detected 80 cases of the farm animal disease known as
bluetongue, which has struck sheep and cows in several European
countries since last month [August 2006], television reported.

The insect-borne virus was detected in 60 sheep and 20 cows in the
rural region of M’sila, 250 km (155 miles) southeast of the capital
Algiers, an agriculture ministry spokesman said.

Television pictures showed trucks spraying insecticide in the area,
and the spokesman said veterinarians had the situation under control.

The disease is fatal to sheep, causing fever and swelling and
turning
their tongues blue. It is not contagious or known to affect humans.

Cattle and goats often show no clinical signs but can carry the
virus
for a certain period of time and transmit it to sheep, though it is
generally spread by insects. [There is no direct transmission of the
bluetongue virus among susceptible animals, only vector-borne;
occasionally, the virus may be transmitted iatrogenically, e.g. by
the repeated use of injection needles during mass vaccinations. –
Mod.AS]

Newspapers also reported cases of the virus in cattle at Kabylie,
east of Algiers. It was earlier detected in the Netherlands,
Belgium,
Germany and France.

—
Joseph P. Dudley, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist,
EAI Corporation
Arlington, VA 22203
<jdudley>

[In July 2006, the Algerian veterinary services notified the OIE
about 5 outbreaks of bluetongue in sheep: 3 in the El Bayadh wilaya
(province) and 2 in the Laghouat wilaya. The animals showed
“classical clinical signs of the disease.”

M’sila, the site of the current outbreak, is northeast of the 2
provinces infected in July 2006; see an administrative map of
Algeria at
<http>.

Earlier outbreaks of bluetongue in Algeria had been observed in
2000,
reportedly caused by BTV-2. This virus, detected during the same
period in neighboring Morocco as well, subsequently spread into
Sardinia, Sicily, mainland Italy, Corsica and the Balearic islands.

In late 2004, BTV-4 was recorded in Morocco, spreading into
southwestern Spain and southern Portugal.

The diagnosis of the July 2006 outbreaks was, reportedly,
established
by the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Algiers, using ELISA. The July
2006 OIE notification further stated: “serotyping in progress.” It
will be helpful to obtain the results of the serotyping; though,
apparently, BTV-2 and BTV-4 seem to be the main suspects,
involvement
of exotic serotypes (such as BTV-8) should be excluded in view of
the
current observations on clinical cases in cattle. – Mod.AS]