Abstract
BackgroundSchmallenberg virus (SBV) is an emerging Orthobunyavirus of ruminant livestock species currently circulating in Europe. SBV causes a subclinical or mild disease in adult animals but vertical transmission to pregnant dams may lead to severe malformations in the offspring. Data on the onset of clinical signs, viremia and seroconversion in experimentally infected adult animals are available for cattle and sheep but are still lacking for goats.For a better understanding of the pathogenesis of SBV infection in adult ruminants, we carried out experimental infections in adult goats. Our specific objectives were: (i) to record clinical signs, viremia and seroconversion; (ii) to monitor viral excretion in the semen of infected bucks; (iii) to determine in which tissues SBV replication took place and virus-induced lesions developed.ResultsFour goats and two bucks were inoculated with SBV. Virus inoculation was followed by a short viremic phase lasting 3 to 4 days and a seroconversion occurring between days 7 and 14 pi in all animals. The inoculated goats did not display any clinical signs, gross lesions or histological lesions. Viral genomic RNA was found in one ovary but could not be detected in other organs. SBV RNA was not found in the semen samples collected from two inoculated bucks.ConclusionsIn the four goats and two bucks, the kinetics of viremia and seroconversion appeared similar to those previously described for sheep and cattle. Our limited set of data provides no evidence of viral excretion in buck semen.
Highlights
Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is an emerging Orthobunyavirus of ruminant livestock species currently circulating in Europe
Infectious SBV has been detected in bovine semen samples from the field [6,7,8] and SBV RNA could be detected in semen from experimentally infected bulls [9]
Real-time PCR SBV RNA was detected in the blood of all inoculated animals for 3 to 4 days, starting between day 1 and 3 pi (Fig. 1)
Summary
Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is an emerging Orthobunyavirus of ruminant livestock species currently circulating in Europe. In the late summer/autumn 2011, a disease outbreak with diarrhea, drop of milk production, and fever was reported in adult cattle in Western Europe. These symptoms could not be attributed to any known infectious agent. Metagenomic analyses on blood samples from affected animals in Germany led to the identification of a new Orthobunyavirus that was named the Schmallenberg virus (SBV) [1]. This emerging virus was later found to induce teratogenesis in pregnant cattle, sheep, and goats leading to typical malformations in the offspring [2]. Whether SBV can be excreted in buck semen is still unknown
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