Fatal Bluetongue Virus Serotype 3 Infection in Female Dogs: A Case Report from Alentejo, Portugal, 2024
The first official case of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) in Portugal was confirmed in sheep from the district of Évora in September 2024. Notably, mortality was observed in pregnant sheepdogs within the affected sheep flocks. This study presents four cases of pregnant dogs infected with BTV-3...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Sílvia C. Barros Diogo Maroco Ana M. Henriques Maria L. Costa Alexandra Alves Fernanda Ramos Ana Duarte Teresa Fagulha Inês C. Varanda Fábio Abade dos Santos Ana C. Ferreira Maria J. Barahona Paulo M. Carvalho Mariana Orvalho Margarida D. Duarte |
| author_facet | Sílvia C. Barros Diogo Maroco Ana M. Henriques Maria L. Costa Alexandra Alves Fernanda Ramos Ana Duarte Teresa Fagulha Inês C. Varanda Fábio Abade dos Santos Ana C. Ferreira Maria J. Barahona Paulo M. Carvalho Mariana Orvalho Margarida D. Duarte |
| author_sort | Sílvia C. Barros |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The first official case of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) in Portugal was confirmed in sheep from the district of Évora in September 2024. Notably, mortality was observed in pregnant sheepdogs within the affected sheep flocks. This study presents four cases of pregnant dogs infected with BTV-3 in mid-September 2024, all of which aborted prior to death. BTV-3 was identified by RT-qPCR following initial positive results from pan-BTV RT-qPCR. The virus was subsequently isolated from the blood of one of the dogs in BHK-21 cells, and a partial sequence of the vp2 gene was obtained. This sequence showed 100% similarity to sheep BTV3/3234/PT2024, identified in Portugal in September 2024, as well as to BTV-3/NET2023, first reported in the Netherlands in 2023. These findings suggest that the viruses may be related or share a common origin. Co-infection with common canine viruses and pathogenic bacteria was ruled out, confirming that the fatalities were due to BTV-3 infection, probably by ingestion of sheep placenta after lambing. Our results confirm the potential for the transmission of BTV-3 to non-ruminant species, particularly carnivores, and, therefore, the wider ecological implications of this virus. In addition, the identification of transplacental transmission of BTV-3 in one of the dogs provides new evidence highlighting the complexity of the virus’ transmission mechanisms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bbd06b69cc7d41e78f62842297bf16dc |
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| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj-art-bbd06b69cc7d41e78f62842297bf16dc2025-08-20T02:45:31ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152025-01-0117215910.3390/v17020159Fatal Bluetongue Virus Serotype 3 Infection in Female Dogs: A Case Report from Alentejo, Portugal, 2024Sílvia C. Barros0Diogo Maroco1Ana M. Henriques2Maria L. Costa3Alexandra Alves4Fernanda Ramos5Ana Duarte6Teresa Fagulha7Inês C. Varanda8Fábio Abade dos Santos9Ana C. Ferreira10Maria J. Barahona11Paulo M. Carvalho12Mariana Orvalho13Margarida D. Duarte14Nacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalHospital Veterinário Muralha de Évora, Rua Marechal Costa Gomes 9, 7005-145 Évora, PortugalHospital Veterinário Muralha de Évora, Rua Marechal Costa Gomes 9, 7005-145 Évora, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalHospital Veterinário Muralha de Évora, Rua Marechal Costa Gomes 9, 7005-145 Évora, PortugalNacional Institute of Agrarian and Veterinarian Research, Quinta Do Marquês, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalThe first official case of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) in Portugal was confirmed in sheep from the district of Évora in September 2024. Notably, mortality was observed in pregnant sheepdogs within the affected sheep flocks. This study presents four cases of pregnant dogs infected with BTV-3 in mid-September 2024, all of which aborted prior to death. BTV-3 was identified by RT-qPCR following initial positive results from pan-BTV RT-qPCR. The virus was subsequently isolated from the blood of one of the dogs in BHK-21 cells, and a partial sequence of the vp2 gene was obtained. This sequence showed 100% similarity to sheep BTV3/3234/PT2024, identified in Portugal in September 2024, as well as to BTV-3/NET2023, first reported in the Netherlands in 2023. These findings suggest that the viruses may be related or share a common origin. Co-infection with common canine viruses and pathogenic bacteria was ruled out, confirming that the fatalities were due to BTV-3 infection, probably by ingestion of sheep placenta after lambing. Our results confirm the potential for the transmission of BTV-3 to non-ruminant species, particularly carnivores, and, therefore, the wider ecological implications of this virus. In addition, the identification of transplacental transmission of BTV-3 in one of the dogs provides new evidence highlighting the complexity of the virus’ transmission mechanisms.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/2/159<i>Bluetongue virus</i>BTV-3serotypedogsabortioninfection |
| spellingShingle | Sílvia C. Barros Diogo Maroco Ana M. Henriques Maria L. Costa Alexandra Alves Fernanda Ramos Ana Duarte Teresa Fagulha Inês C. Varanda Fábio Abade dos Santos Ana C. Ferreira Maria J. Barahona Paulo M. Carvalho Mariana Orvalho Margarida D. Duarte Fatal Bluetongue Virus Serotype 3 Infection in Female Dogs: A Case Report from Alentejo, Portugal, 2024 Viruses <i>Bluetongue virus</i> BTV-3 serotype dogs abortion infection |
| title | Fatal Bluetongue Virus Serotype 3 Infection in Female Dogs: A Case Report from Alentejo, Portugal, 2024 |
| title_full | Fatal Bluetongue Virus Serotype 3 Infection in Female Dogs: A Case Report from Alentejo, Portugal, 2024 |
| title_fullStr | Fatal Bluetongue Virus Serotype 3 Infection in Female Dogs: A Case Report from Alentejo, Portugal, 2024 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fatal Bluetongue Virus Serotype 3 Infection in Female Dogs: A Case Report from Alentejo, Portugal, 2024 |
| title_short | Fatal Bluetongue Virus Serotype 3 Infection in Female Dogs: A Case Report from Alentejo, Portugal, 2024 |
| title_sort | fatal bluetongue virus serotype 3 infection in female dogs a case report from alentejo portugal 2024 |
| topic | <i>Bluetongue virus</i> BTV-3 serotype dogs abortion infection |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/2/159 |
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