New bluetongue virus serotype 12 (BTV-12) detected in the Netherlands

On 11 October, the Dutch authorities announced that a new strain of bluetongue virus serotype 12 (BTV-12) had been detected in the Netherlands. The first confirmed cases occurred in three animals on two farms in the centre of the country. A ram that had been vaccinated twice against BTV-3 but still showed severe clinical signs of bluetongue and died was reported as a suspected case on 3 October. A cow and her calf were subsequently tested on a dairy farm 5 km away and also tested positive for BTV-12. Initial sequence information from Dutch colleagues confirmed the presence of a previously unknown BTV-12 strain, which is genetically related to BTV-12 strains from Africa. As with BTV-3, this is therefore a new entry of unknown origin. Further spread of this serotype cannot be excluded and the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI) is monitoring the situation. The FLI National Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue (NRL BTV) is preparing diagnostic tests to detect BTV-12. More information on the BTV-12 outbreak in the Netherlands can be found at Link im Kontext.