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Blue Tongue Disease: Mode and extent of the production losses in North Rhine-Westphalia and monitoring of the vaccination outcomes

Project

Risks

This project contributes to the research aim 'Risks'. Which funding institutions are active for this aim? What are the sub-aims? Take a look:
Risks


Project code: Vergabe-Nr.08/039.1.
Contract period: 01.05.2008 - 30.04.2010
Budget: 90,891 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research

The number of cases of Blue Tongue Disease recorded in North Rhine Westphalia (nearly 9700 cases until November 2007) amounts to more than 50% of all cases in Germany. The disease is caused by the Blue Tongue Virus Serotype 8 (BTV 8) that has been detected in an endemic species of biting midges of the Culicoides genus. At present, a permanent pressure for infection must be assumed. Considering the high lethality of Bt-infected sheep and the morbidity in cattle, there is a need for quantifying the production losses associated with Bt-infections. The project presented herein aims: 1. To quantify the mode, duration and extent of production losses in the dairy and sheep industry via taking records in exemplary farm and in bull studs. The losses are to be quantified by the use of data about health status, occurrence of diseases, treatments, performance, husbandry traits and/or parameters of quality. The veterinary records of the dairy and sheep farms, the data bases of the veterinarians in charge and – for dairy farms-, the performance test recordings from the local milk recording organization (Landeskontrollverband (LKV) NRW e.V.) will be used as data source. To evaluate BTV effects on male fertility in cattle, sperm quality will be continuously recorded in bulls naturally infected with BTV8 (RUW e.G.). 2. To monitor in representative dairy and sheep farms the serological alterations related to the general vaccinations scheduled for 2008. For this, blood samples will be collected before and after the vaccinations. The quantitative data yielded will initially be used to describe the situation in the filed and will then be further evaluated by considering the supplemental data from performance and disease status. The monitoring of the vaccination outcomes accompanies the vaccination measures and provides information for future strategies.

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