Novel Bluetongue Virus in Goats,

During 2000–2013, 4 genotypes of bluetongue virus (BTV) were detected in Corsica, France. At the end of 2013, a compulsory BTV-1 vaccination campaign was initiated among domestic ruminants; biological samples from goats were tested as part of a corresponding monitoring program. A BTV strain with nucleotide sequences suggestive of a novel serotype was detected. Bluetongue is an infectious, noncontagious, arthropod-borne viral disease of domestic and wild ruminants (1). Twenty-six distinct bluetongue virus (BTV) serotypes have been identified (2). The first detection of bluetongue virus (BTV) on the island of Corsica, France, was in 2000, when sheep were found to be infected with BTV genotype 2 (BTV-2); the virus most likely originated from Sardinia (3). In 2003 and 2004, BTV-4 and BTV-16 were detected on Corsica (4). Since 2004, no other outbreaks of BTV had been reported on the island until September 2, 2013, when BTV-1 was isolated from 3 flocks of sheep in southern Corsica (5). In the following weeks, the virus spread across the island, and by March 2014, 169 outbreaks had been reported. The Study During September–December 2013, a total of 1,097 blood and spleen samples were collected from diseased or dead animals on Corsica; the samples were sent to the French National Reference Laboratory at Agence Natio-nale de Sécurité Sanitaire (Maisons-Alfort, France) to be tested for the presence of BTV. RNA was extracted from the samples and then amplified by using a real-time revers