Benefits of PCR and decentralization of diagnosis in regional laboratories in the management of Bluetongue in France

Since 1998, Bluetongue virus (BTV) serotypes 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 16 have spread throughout Europe. In 2006, BTV serotype 8 (BTV-8) emerged unexpectedly in Northern Europe, in countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, to spread rapidly in the following year throughout the rest of Europe. In 2007, BTV-1 spread in Southern Europe, in Spain and in South of France. In 2008, 2 more BTV serotypes were detected in Northern Europe: BTV-6 in the Netherlands and in Germany, and BTV-11 in Belgium. The European incursion of BTV has caused considerable economic losses, including direct losses from mortality and reduced production, as well as indirect losses generated by ensuing bans on trade of ruminants between infected and non-infected areas. Given the significance of the disease, all affected countries have established control and eradication measures that have evolved together with the availability of detection and prevention tools such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests and vaccines, respectively. This paper describes how the French National Reference Laboratory for BT has managed diagnosis during the fast and massive spread of BTV-1 and 8 in 2007 and 2008