OIE RL for «Bluetongue Virus » – «Peter Mertens » – «United Kingdom»

OIE Reference Laboratory Reports
Activities in 2012

Report Written by Dr Carrie Batten and Prof Peter Mertens

Name of disease (or topic) for which you are a designated OIE Reference Laboratory: / Bluetongue Virus
Address of laboratory / The Pirbright Institute
Ash Road
Pirbright
GU24 0NF
United Kingdom
Tel.: / +44 (0)1483 232441
Fax: / +44 (0)1483 232448
e-mail address: /
website: /
Name (including Title) of Head of Laboratory (Responsible Official): / Professor John Fazakerley
Name(including Title and Position) of OIE Reference Expert: / Prof Peter Mertens
Date of submission to the OIE / 17th January 2012

Instructions

This form should be used by an OIE Reference Laboratory to report activities that took place from January through December of the past year (2012), unless otherwise stated, and must be submitted by the end of January every year.

Only those activities that concern the disease (or topic) for which the laboratory is recognised by the OIE should be mentioned. The questionnaire structure follows the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for OIE Reference Laboratories, available at:

EachToR(blueitalicised text)has been placed as a heading covering the group of questions related to it.

Please note the reditalicisedtext is given as guidance and should be deleted from your report and substitute with your data. Examples are based onpast Annual Reports or have been invented.

The questionnaire represents a means of gathering information on activities carried out by OIE Reference Laboratories and making it available to OIE Member Countries and to the OIE Reference Laboratory network.

This annual report will remain available for consultation on the OIE web site:

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ToR:To use, promote and disseminate diagnostic methods validated according to OIE Standards

Test recommended by the OIE / Total number of test performed last year
Indirect diagnostic tests / Nationally / Internationally
ELISA(Ab) for export / 1506 / 58
ELISA (Ab) for diagnostics / 0 / 175
SerumNeutralisation Tests / 0 / 31
Direct diagnostic tests / Nationally / Internationally

Real-time RT-PCR for import/export

/ 4392 / 10

Real-time RT-PCR for diagnosis/confirmatory testing

/ 9 / 97

Virus Isolation

/ 0 / 32

ToR:To develop reference material in accordance with OIE requirements, and implement and promote the application of OIE Standards.

Tostore and distribute to national laboratories biological reference products and any other reagents used in the diagnosis and control of the designated pathogens or disease.

2.Did your laboratory produce or store imported standard reference reagentsofficially recognised by the OIE or other international bodies?

Yes No

3.Did your laboratory supply standard reference reagentsto OIE Member Countries?

Yes No

Type of reagent available / Related diagnostic test / Produced/
stored / Amount supplied nationally
(ml, mg) / Amount supplied internationally
(ml, mg) / Name of recipient OIE Member Countries and of institutions
BTV positive antiserum against serotypes 1-24 and 26 * / SNT / 1ml of each serotype to each laboratory / Netherlands, National Reference Laboratory and Germany, National Reference Laboratory
Virus strains
BTV reference strains serotypes 1-24 / 2ml of each / Romania, National Reference Laboratory
BTV positive antiserum against serotypes 1-24 and 26 * / SNT / 2ml of each serotype to each laboratory serotype / Romania, National Reference Laboratory; Russia, Pokrov, National Reference Laboratory and Russia, Vladimir, National Reference Laboratory
Virus strain KUW2010/12 BTV-26 * / 2ml to each laboratory / Netherlands, National Reference Laboratory and Italy, National Reference Laboratory
Virus strain RSArrrr/05 BTV-5 * / 2ml / Italy, National Reference Laboratory
BTV positive antiserum against serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 13, 16 * / SNT / 5ml of each serotype / France, National Reference Laboratory
BTV-4 positive antiserum / 10ml / Finland, Food Safety Authority

*not OIE certified

4. Did your laboratory produce diagnostic reagents other than the OIE-approved standard reference reagents?

Yes No

5.Did your laboratory produce vaccines?

Yes No

6.Did your laboratory supply vaccines to OIE Member Countries?

Yes No

ToR:To develop, standardise and validate, according to OIE Standards, new procedures for diagnosis and control of the designated pathogens or diseases

7.Did your laboratory develop new diagnostic methods validated according to OIE Standards for the designated pathogen or disease?

Yes No

8.Didyour laboratory develop new vaccines according to OIE Standards for the designated pathogen or disease?

Yes No

ToR:To provide diagnostic testing facilities, and, where appropriate, scientific and technical advice on disease control measures to OIE Member Countries

9.Did your laboratory carry out diagnostic testing for other OIE Member Countries?

Yes No

Name of OIE Member Country seeking assistance / Date
(dd/mm) / No. samples received for provision of diagnostic support (i.e. from surveillance campaign) / No. samples received for provision of confirmatory diagnoses
Greece / 20/03 / 3
Spain / 26/01 / 1
Israel / 21/02 / 8
Kuwait / 01/06 / 70
Russia / 23/07 / 7
Pakistan / 02/10 / 102
Latvia / 15/11 / 15
Poland / 21/11 / 7
Spain / 22/11 / 2
Lithuania / 19/11 / 15
Lithuania / 22/11 / 15
Estonia / 28/11 / 4
Lithuania / 30/11 / 18
Greece / 12/12 / 5

10.Did your laboratory provide expert advice in technical consultancies on the request of an OIE Member Country?

Yes No

Name of the OIE Member Country receiving a technical consultancy / Purpose / How the advice was provided
Belarus, Egypt, Latvia, Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Russia, Estonia, Palestine, Romania, Turkey, / Diagnostic test selection / Remote assistance
Uganda, National Animal Disease Diagnostics and Epidemiology Centre / On-going twinning project / In loco and remote assistance
Sweden / Designation of BTV-25 / Remote assistance

ToR:To carry out and/or coordinate scientific and technical studies in collaboration with other laboratories, centres or organisations

11.Did your laboratory participate in international scientific studies in collaboration with OIE Member Countries other than the own?

Yes No

Title of the study / Duration / Purpose of the study / Partners (Institutions) / OIE Member Countries involved other than your country
Bluetongue and Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease virus in local breeds of cattle in Kenya / 6 months / Determine seroprevalence and serotype distribution of BTV and EHDV in Kenya / The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) / Kenya
Molecular and reverse genetics studies of orbivirus transmission, host responses, epidemiology and diagnostic systems / Throughout 2012 / To establish and disseminate reverse genetic technologies for BTV, to explore the genetic basis for biological characteristics of the virus that may determine its transmission and distribution / AFSSA
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
Stichting DLOCVI
Veterinary and
Agrochemical
ResearchCentre
Veterinary and
Agrochemical
ResearchCentre
University ofGlasgow
Institute of
Virology and
Immunoprophylaxis
Istituto
Zooprofilattico
Sperimentale
dell'Abruzzo e
del Molise "G.
Caporale"
Kimron
Veterinary
Institute
(KVI) / France
Germany
The Netherlands
Belgium
Denmark
UK
Switzerland
Italy
Israel
WildTech / Throughout 2012 / Development of novel technologies for Surveillance of emerging and re-emerging infections of wildlife / University of Nottingham
FLI (Jenna)
CVI – WUR
AHVLA
Clondiag
BIOMED
SVA Upsala
CVI
ENL
SAC
USASK / UK
Germany
The Netherlands
UK
Germany
Greece
Sweden
Croatia
France
UK
Canada

ToR:To collect, process, analyse, publish and disseminate epizootiological data relevant to the designated pathogens or diseases

12.Didyour Laboratory collect epizootiologicaldata relevant to international disease control?

Yes No

13.Didyour laboratory disseminate epizootiologicaldata that had been processed and analysed?

Yes No

14.What method of dissemination of information is most often used by your laboratory?

(Indicate in the appropriate box the number by category)

a)Articles published in peer-reviewed journals:...... 14

b)International conferences:...... 6

c)National conferences:......

d)Other:......

ToR: To provide scientific and technical training for personnel from OIE Member Countries

To recommend the prescribed and alternative tests or vaccines as OIE Standards

15.Did your laboratory provide scientific and technical training to laboratory personnel from other OIE Member Countries?

Yes No

If the answer is yes, please provide the total number of trained persons for each of the following categories:

a)Technical visits:...... 136

b)Seminars:...... 139

c)Hands-on training courses:...... 139

d)Internships (>1 month):......

Type of technical training provided (a, b,c or d) / Country of origin of the expert(s) provided with training / No. participants from the corresponding country
a), b) and c) / Uganda / 4
a), b) and c) / Uganda / 120
a), b) and c) / Turkey / 8
b) and c) / Uganda, Romania, Spain, UAE / 7
a) / Morocco / 4

ToR:To maintain a system of quality assurance, biosafety and biosecurity relevant for the pathogen and the disease concerned

16.Does your laboratory have a Quality Management System certified according to an International Standard?

Yes No

Quality management system adopted
ISO/IEC 17025

17.Is your laboratory accredited by an international accreditation body?

Yes No

Test for which your laboratory is accredited / Accreditation body
BTV real time RT-PCR (Shaw et al) / UKAS
BTV real time RT-PCR (Orru/Hoffman et al) / UKAS
BTV ELISA (Ab) / UKAS

18.Does your laboratory maintain a “biorisk management system” for the pathogen and the disease concerned? (See Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals 2012, Chapter 1.1.3 orManual of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals 2012, Chapter 1.1.1)

Yes No

ToR:To organise and participate in scientific meetings on behalf of the OIE

19.Did your laboratory organise scientific meetings on behalf of the OIE?

Yes No

20.Did your laboratory participate in scientific meetings on behalf of the OIE?

Yes No

ToR:To establish and maintain a network with other OIE Reference Laboratories designated for the same pathogen or disease and organise regular inter-laboratory proficiency testing to ensure comparability of results

21.Did your laboratory exchange information with other OIE Reference Laboratories designated for the same pathogen or disease?

Yes No

22.Was your laboratory involved in maintaining a network with OIE Reference Laboratories designated for the same pathogen or disease by organising or participating in proficiency tests?

Yes No

Purpose of the proficiency tests: (validation of a diagnostic protocol: specify the test; quality control of vaccines: specify the vaccine type, etc.) / Role of your Reference Laboratory (organiser/participant) / No. participants / Participating OIE Ref. Labs/ organising OIE Ref. Lab.
BTV antibody detection by ELISA / Organiser / 41 / Note: these are national reference labs, OIE status unknown Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom
BTV genome detection by real time RT-PCR / Organiser / 40

23.Did your laboratory collaborate with other OIE Reference Laboratories for the same disease on scientific research projects for the diagnosis or control of the pathogen of interest?

Yes No

ToR:To organise inter-laboratory proficiency testing with laboratories other than OIE Reference Laboratories for the same pathogens and diseases to ensure equivalence of results.

24.Did your laboratory organiseor participate in inter-laboratory proficiency tests with laboratories other than OIE Reference Laboratories for the same disease?

Yes No

ToR:To place expert consultants at the disposal of the OIE

25.Did your laboratory place expert consultants at the disposal of the OIE?

Yes No

List of publications

P. G. Toye,C.A Batten, H. Kiara, M.R. Henstock, L. Edwards, the IDEAL consortium and C.A.L. Oura. Bluetongue and Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease virus in local breeds of cattle in Kenya. In press Veterinary Science. DOI information: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2012.11.001.

Maan NS, Maan S, Guimera M, Nomikou K, Morecroft E, Pullinger G, Belaganahalli MN, Mertens PP. The genome sequence of a reassortant bluetongue virus serotype 3 from India. J.Virol. 2012 Jun;86(11):6375-6. (doi: 10.1128/​JVI.00671-12).5971

Maan S, Maan NS, Guimera M, Nomikou K, Singh KP, Pullinger G, Belaganahalli MN, Mertens PP. (2012) Genome sequence of a reassortant strain of bluetongue virus serotype 23 from Western India. J Virol. 2012 Jun;86(12):7011-2. (doi: 10.1128/​JVI.00731-12).

Andrew Shaw, Eva Veronesi, GuillemetteMaurin, Francois Guiguen, Frazer Rixon, MaximeRatinier, Peter Mertens, Simon Carpenter, Massimo Palmarini, Christophe Terzian, and Frederick Arnaud. Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for bluetongue virus replication and tropism.J Virol.2012 Jun 6. [Epub ahead of print] (doi: 10.1128/​JVI.00131-12).

Christie E. Mayo, Christopher M. Barker, Bradley A. Mullens, Alec C. Gerry, Peter P. C. Mertens, SushilaMaan, NarenderMaan, Ian A. Gardner, Alan J. Guthrie, N. James MacLachlan (2011) The combination of abundance and infection rates of Culicoides sonorensis estimates risk of subsequent bluetongue virus infection of sentinel cattle on California dairy farms.Vet Parasitology 2012 Jun 8;187(1-2):295-301. Epub 2012 Jan 8. (

Maan, S., Maan, N.S., Pullinger, G., Nomikou, K., Morecroft, E., Guimera, M., Belaganahalli, M.N., and Mertens, P.P.C., 2012, The genome sequence of bluetongue virus type 10 from India: evidence for circulation of a western topotype vaccine strain. J Virol. 2012 May;86(10):5971-2. doi:10.1128/JVI.00596-12.

Maan, N.S., Maan, S., Nomikou, K., Prasad, G., Singh, K.P., Belaganahalli, M.N., and Mertens, P.P.C., 2012, Full genome sequence of bluetongue virus serotype 1 from India.J Virol.2012 Apr;86(8):4717-8. ( doi:10.1128/JVI.00188-12 ).

Maan, N.S., Maan, S., Guimera, M., Pullinger, G., Singh, K.P., Nomikou, K., Belaganahalli, M.N., and Mertens, P.P.C., (2012), The genome sequence of bluetongue virus type 2 from India: evidence for reassortment between eastern and western topotype field strains. J Virol. 2012 May;86(9):5404-5. (doi:10.1128/JVI.00420-12)

Maan, N.S., Maan, S., Nomikou, K., Guimera, M., Pullinger, G., Singh, K.P., Belaganahalli, M.N., and Mertens, P.P.C., (2012), The genome sequence of bluetongue virus type 2 from India: evidence for reassortment between eastern and western topotype field strains.. J Virol. 2012 May;86(10):5967-8.doi:10.1128/JVI.00536-12.178.

Belaganahalli MN, Maan S, Maan NS, Nomikou K, Pritchard I, Lunt R, Kirkland PD, Attoui H, Brownlie J, Mertens PP. (2012)Full genome sequencing and genetic characterization of Eubenangee viruses identify Pata virus as a distinct species within the genus Orbivirus.PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e31911. Epub 2012 Mar 15.

Maan NS, Maan S, Belaganahalli MN, Ostlund EN, Johnson DJ, Nomikou K, Mertens PP. (2012). Identification and differentiation of the twenty six bluetongue virus serotypes by RT-PCR amplification of the serotype-specific genome segment 2.Plos OnePLoS One. 2012;7(2):e32601. Epub 2012 Feb 28. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032601

Xinjun LV, Fauziah MOHD JAAFAR, Xiaohong SUN, Mourad BELHOUCHET, Shihong FU, Song ZHANG, Su-xiangTONG, Zhi LV, Peter P C MERTENS, Guodong LIANG, Houssam ATTOUI (2012). Isolates of liaoning virus from wild-caught mosquitoes in the xinjiang province of china in 2005.. PLoS One. 2012;7(5):e37732. Epub 2012 May 23.

Karin E Darpel, Paul Monaghan, Jennifer Simpson, Simon J Anthony, Eva Veronesi, Harriet W Brooks, Heather Elliott, Joe Brownlie, Haru-Hisa Takamatsu, Philip S Mellor, Peter PC MertensInvolvement of the skin during bluetongue virus infection and replication in the ruminant host. Vet Res. 2012; 43(1): 40. Published online 2012 April 30. doi: 10.1186/1297-9716-43-40

SuzanaRuscanu, Florentina Pascale, MickaelBourge, BehzadHemati, JamilaElhmouzi-Younes, Céline Urien, Michel Bonneau, Haru Takamatsu, Jayne Hope, Peter Mertens , Gilles Meyer, Meredith Stewart, Polly Roy, Eliane F. Meurs, StéphanieDabo, StéphanZientara, Emmanuel Breard, Corinne Sailleau, Emilie Chauveau, Damien Vitour, Bernard Charley, Isabelle Schwartz-Cornil. The Double-Stranded RNA Bluetongue Virus Induces Type I Interferon in Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells via a MYD88-Dependent TLR7/8-Independent Signaling Pathway J Virol. 2012 May; 86(10): 5817–5828. doi: 10.1128/JVI.06716-11

Annual reports of OIE Reference Laboratories, 20121