March 2013

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BLUETONGUE

Presentation at the SCoFCAH, 5 Presentation at the SCoFCAH,

SITUATION IN 2012 DISEASE HISTORY IN GREECE z 2008: 78 outbreaks, all in the Island of Lesvos (BTV-16 + BTV-8) z 2009: 191 outbreaks, mostly in the Island of Lesvos (BTV-16 + BTV-1) z 2010: 36 outbreaks, about half in Lesvos and the rest in other islands (BTV-16) z 2011: 10 outbreaks, in various islands of the Eastern Aegean Sea but not in Lesvos (BTV-16 & BTV-4) z All Epidemics since 2008 detected in the Islands of the Eastern Aegean Sea - no further expansion to mainland Greece z Seasonal character, arise mid–to late autumn with latest outbreaks usually before the end of the year , with mild if any clinical signs. DISEASE HISTORY IN GREECE z Limnos island has been declared as free of BTvirus area, after all necessary epidemiological data , on 15 December of 2011.

Limnos

Lesvos BT SITUATION IN GREECE IN 2012 z Summary of 2012 BT outbreaks Location Number of outbreaks 37 (2 in sentinels) 37 1 12 Lesvos 3 Halki 1 Total 91 BT SITUATION IN GREECE IN 2012 z Timeline of BT in 2012 ¾ April : Seroconversion in Sentinel Bovines in Rhodes island ¾ Sep – Oct: Clinical outbreaks in Kos and Rhodes islands One clinical outbreak in Kalymnos island ¾ November: Seroconversion in Sentinel Bovines in Rhodes island Continuing clinical outbreaks in Kos and Rhodes Clinical outbreaks in Samos and Lesvos islands One clinical outbreak in Halki island ¾ December : Clinical outbreaks in Samos, Lesvos and Rhodes islands BT SITUATION IN GREECE IN 2012 Areas with outbreaks in 2012

Areas affected with BTV4 for 2012 BT SITUATION IN GREECE IN 2012

z Clinical disease with typical clinical signs reported in all islands where BT was detected especially in Rhodes, Kos and Samos islands z Mild clinical disease observed mostly in Lesvos and to a much lesser extent in Rhodes (3 out of 37 outbreaks) and Kos (2 out of 37 outbreaks) z BTV–type was predominantly 4. One case of seroconversion in bovines sentinels (Rhodes- April) ,where both BTV4 and BTV16 detected by Real-time RT PCR. z BTV 4 was introduced at the end of 2011, (seroconversion of sentinels bovines in Rhodes). BT SITUATION IN GREECE IN 2012 Clinical features z Typical clinical signs detected such as: ‰ Cataptosis ‰ Anorexia ‰ Fever, ‰ Submandibular oedema, ‰ Mucopurulent nasal discharge, ‰ Bleeding lips , ‰ Blue tongue and z Deaths GREECE BT CONTROL MEASURES z No vaccination. z Restrictive measures in infected holdings, euthanasia-destruction only of animals with very heavy clinical signs that are unlikely to recover, epidemiological investigation of outbreaks. z Establishment and maintenance of zones already in place [ prefecture (Rhodes, Kos, e.t.c.), Samos prefecture, Lesvos island] z Exit only of small ruminants from the restricted areas to the rest of the country allowed only for immediate slaughter . GREECE BT CONTROL MEASURES Restricted zones in 2012

BT restricted zones (red) in Greece as of Dec 2012 GREECE BT SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMME z Active surveillance Network of sentinel bovines covering all restricted areas as well selected areas in the rest of the country (financial incentives for breeders that participate in the surveillance programme). Network of vector surveillance (insect traps) in strategically selected prefectures. Random testing of imported animals (intra- community trade). z Passive surveillance Investigation – Sampling of all suspect cases ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE SENTINELS - VECTOR SURVEILLANCE

Prefectures with bovine sentinel groups (10 groups of 5 animals or 20 groups of 7 animals in each prefecture)

Location of vector trapping sites BT ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE 2012 Geographical distribution of sentinel samples

Number of sentinel (cattle) samples examined

0 0‐312 313‐761 762‐1200 1201‐1703 BT VECTOR SURVEILLANCE 2012 Entomological data

z In trapping sites of mainland Greece, Culicoides sp. populations ( c. obsoletus, c. puncatus, c. newsteadi) increased moderately from May to August . No culicoides immicola detected. z In Rhodes’ trapping sites, significant rise of C. immicola populations between July and October. BT VECTOR SURVEILLANCE 2012 Entomological data z In Lesvos’ trapping sites , increase of C. immicola (June- October) and C. obsoletus (May- July) numbers. BLUETONGUE SITUATION IN ISLAND

KEY FACTS ON CHIOS • Closest BT infected areas are Lesvos and Samos, affected with BTV 8,1,16 ,4 and 16, 4 respectively over the past years.

• Distance between Lesvos - Chios ∼80 km Distance between Samos - Chios ∼100 km

• No BT outbreaks since March 2009 (only serological findings in bovines and one sheep, Lesvos BTV16).

• Clinical outbreaks never occurred in the island.

• Entomological data remain the same without Chios any change during the period 2011- 2012 (no c. immicola detected). Samos For 2012, low numbers of c.obsoletus and c. punctatus (July to December). BLUETONGUE SITUATION IN CHIOS ISLAND z No seroconversion in sentinel bovines since December of 2010. 1 z Serological results from sentinel bovines , representing the whole island, all negative for BT antibodies the last 2 years. z 2011: 6 holdings participated in active surveillance programme A total of 36 sentinel bovines tested serologically, sequential samplings

(monthly based). 1 1 300 blood samples all negative . z 2012: 4 holdings participated A total of 26 sentinel bovines tested serologically, monthly sampling (June – December). 182 blood samples all negative. Location of holdings with sentinel bovines Thank you for your attention!