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Epidemiology of Bluetongue Viruses in the American Tropics
Author(s) -
GIBBS E. PAUL J.,
HOMAN E. JANE,
MO CLAUDETTE L.,
GREINER ELLIS C.,
GONZALEZ JOHNNY,
THOMPSON LEE H.,
OVEIDO MARCO T.,
WALTON THOMAS E.,
YUILL THOMAS M.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1992.tb19653.x
Subject(s) - tropics , epidemiology , virology , geography , biology , medicine , ecology , pathology
A study of the epidemiology of bluetongue viruses is in progress with the collaboration of 11 Central American and Caribbean countries. To date, over 200 bluetongue virus isolates have been obtained from cattle and sheep in sentinel groups distributed in the participating countries. Bluetongue serotypes identified include 1, 3, 6, and 12, virus types not previously recorded in the Western Hemisphere. Although the clinical impact of bluetongue virus infections in this hyperendemic environment appears to be minimal, the ubiquity of infection causes restrictions on the export of ruminant livestock and germ plasm. The stability of the Caribbean region ecosystem and the long-range implications of the interface with the northern temperate bluetongue virus ecosystem are reviewed.