Viruses (2019) 11 (10 - 941)

Valentina Federici, Maria Goffredo, Giuseppe Mancini, Michela Quaglia, Adriana Santilli, Francesca Di Nicola, Matteo De Ascentis, Pierangela Cabras, Carmela Volpicelli, Claudio De Liberato, Giuseppe Satta, Giovanni Federico, Alessandra Leone, Maura Pisciella, Ottavio Portanti, Federica Pizzurro, Liana Teodori and Giovanni Savini (2019)
Vector competence of Italian populations of Culicoides for some bluetongue virus strains responsible for recent northern African and European outbreaks
Viruses 11 (10 - 941)
Abstract: The distribution of Bluetongue virus (BTV) in Europe can be represented by two distinct and interconnected epidemiological systems (episystems), each characterized by different ecological characteristics and vector species. This study investigated the vector competence of Italian populations of Culicoides imicola and Culicoides obsoletus/scoticus to some representative BTV strains after artificial oral infection. The BTV strains were selected according to their ability to spread to one or both episystems and included BTV-4 ITA, responsible of the recent Italian and French BTV-4 outbreaks; the BTV-2 strain which caused the first BTV incursion in Italy, Corsica, and Balearic Islands; BTV-4 MOR, responsible for the epidemic in Morocco; and BTV-8, the strain which spread through Europe between 2006 and 2008. Blood-soaked cotton pledgets and Hemotek membrane feeder using Parafilm® membrane were used to artificially feed midges. For each population/strain, recovery rates (positive/tested heads) were evaluated using serogroup- and serotype-specific RT-PCR. The trial demonstrated that, except for the Abruzzo population of C. obsoletus/C. scoticus, which was refractory to BTV-4 MOR infection, all the investigated Culicoides populations are susceptible to the selected BTV strains and that, if prompt vaccination programs and restriction measures had not been implemented, BTV-2 and BTV-4 MOR could have spread all over Europe.
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Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Culicoides imicola		Italy
	Culicoides obsoletus		Italy