Global Research on Bluetongue: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Bluetongue (BT) is a viral disease characterized by swelling and cyanosis of the tongue, capable of infecting both domestic and wild animal species. Bluetongue virus (BTV) can cause an outbreak in any region of the world where favorable temperature and vector presence conditions exist. For this reason, BTV studies remain an active field in the literature and the research network of this field continues to develop. This paper aims to identify the most influential research elements and collaborations in the BTV field, with a discussion of results based on existing literature. To discover the current literature on BTV, the Web of Science database was employed. The dataset consisted of 1315 articles. The “Bibliometrix” R package and the VOSviewer program were utilized for data analysis. The number of BT studies rose dramatically between 2005 and 2016 with the appearance of BTV in Europe. The USA and England were determined as the most influential countries. The Veterinary Microbiology and Medical and Veterinary Entomology journals were identified as the most prominent journals of the field. It has been determined that serological studies have been a focal point and collaborations have been strengthened in the field of BTV. Conversely, financing sources and collaboration levels regarding BTV studies were found to be inadequate in African and Asian countries. This paper is expected to provide information to researchers interested in BTV studies about the intellectual structure of the field.