Viral emergence and consequences for reproductive performance in ruminants: two recent examples (bluetongue and...

Viruses can emerge unexpectedly in different regions of the world and may have negative effects on reproductive performance. This paper describes the consequences for reproductive performance that have been reported after the introduction to Europe of two emerging viruses, namely the bluetongue (BTV) and Schmallenberg (SBV) viruses. Following the extensive spread of BTV in northern Europe, large numbers of pregnant cows were infected with BTV serotype 8 (BTV-8) during the breeding season of 2007. Initial reports of some cases of abortion and hydranencephaly in cattle in late 2007 were followed by quite exhaustive investigations in the field that showed that 10%-35% of healthy calves were infected with BTV-8 before birth. Transplacental transmission and fetal abnormalities in cattle and sheep had been previously observed only with strains of the virus that were propagated in embryonated eggs and/or cell culture, such as vaccine strains or vaccine candidate strains. After the unexpected emergence of BTV-8 in northern Europe in 2006, another arbovirus, namely SBV, emerged in Europe in 2011, causing a new economically important disease in ruminants. This new virus, belonging to the Orthobunyavirus genus in the Bunyaviridae family, was first detected in Germany, in The Netherlands and in Belgium in 2011 and soon after in the UK, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Denmark and Switzerland. Adult animals show no or only mild clinical symptoms, whereas infection during a critical period of gestation can lead to abortion, stillbirth or the birth of severely malformed offspring. The impact of the disease is usually greater in sheep than in cattle. The consequences of SBV infection in domestic ruminants and more precisely the secondary effects on off-springs will be described.