Abstract
First appearing in 2011 in Northern Europe, Schmallenberg virus (SBV), an Orthobunyavirus of the Simbu serogroup, is associated with clinical disease mainly in ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats. The clinical signs are characterized by abortion and congenital deformities in newborns. The virus is transmitted by Culicoides midges of the Obsoletus complex. SBV infection induces a solid protective immunity that persists for at least 4 or 6 years in sheep and cattle, respectively. SBV infection can be diagnosed directly by real-time RT-qPCR and virus isolation or indirectly by serological assays. Three vaccines are commercially available in Europe. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on this emerging disease regarding pathogenesis, transmission, diagnosis, control and prevention. This review also highlights that although much has been learned since SBV’s first emergence, there are still areas that require further study to devise better mitigation strategies.
Highlights
The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is encoded by the L segment, whereas the M segment encodes a polyprotein that is further cleaved into the envelope glycoproteins Gn and
Been multiple reports fetal ruminantsof potentially detecting cross-reactive antibodies induced by other Simbu serogroup viruses cannot be from the Mediterranean region, suggesting a possible circulation of Simbu serogroup viruses in this region [21,22,23,24]
Multiple domestic and wild animal species have been shown to be susceptible to Schmallenberg virus (SBV) infection under natural and experimental conditions
Summary
In the fall of 2011, a new cattle disease was reported in Germany and The Netherlands associated with a drop in milk production, hyperthermia and diarrhea. The agent was named Schmallenberg virus (SBV) after the locality in Germany where the outbreak occurred. The newly discovered SBV has sequence similarities to other viruses in the Peribunyaviridae family, genus Orthobunyavirus, such as Akabane, Aino and Shamonda. SBV is an enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA virus with three genomic segments: L (large), M (medium) and S (small) segments (Figure 1A) [3]. Gc and the non-structural protein NSm (Figure 1B). Overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) of the S segment encode the nucleoprotein N and the non-structural protein NSs (Figure 1B) [1,4]. Like other viruses in the order Bunyavirales, the NSs of SBV has been shown to be a major virulence factor that downregulates host-cell mRNA synthesis and type I interferon production in mammalian cells, thereby enhancing viral replication [4,5].
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